CHAPTER 18
1 Soothly it was done after these things, that David smote the Philistines, and made them low, and he took away Gath and the villages thereof from the hand of Philistines;
2 and he smote Moab; and Moabites were made the servants of David, and brought gifts to him.
3 In that time David smote also Hadadezer*, king of Zobah, of the country of Hamath, when he went to alarge his empire till to the flood Euphrates.
4 Therefore David took a thousand four-horsed carts of his, and seven thousand of horsemen, and twenty thousand of footmen; and he hocked all the horses of the chariots, except an hundred four-horsed carts, which he kept to himself.
5 Forsooth also Syrians of Damascus came above, to give help to Hadad-ezer, king of Zobah, but David smote also of his two and twenty thousand of men;
6 and David set knights in Damascus, that Syrians also should serve him, and bring to him gifts. And the Lord helped David in all things to which he went.
7 And David took [the] golden arrow cases, which the servants of Hadadezer had, and he brought those [or them] into Jerusalem;
8 also and of Tibhath, and of Chun, the cities of Hadadezer, he took full much of brass, whereof Solomon made the brazen sea, that is, washing vessel, and pillars, and brazen vessels.
9 And when Tou, king of Hamath, had heard this thing, that is, that David had smitten all the host of Hadadezer, king of Zobah,
10 he sent Hadoram, his son, to David the king, for to ask of him peace, and for to thank him, for he had overcome and smitten Hadadezer; for why king Hadadezer was adversary of Tou. And Hadoram brought vessels of gold and silver and bronze, as gifts.
11 But also king David hallowed to the Lord all the vessels of gold, and of silver, and of brass; and the silver, and the gold, which the king had taken of all folks, as well of Idumea, and of Moab, and of the sons of Ammon, as of [the] Philistines, and of Amalek.
12 And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, smote Edom in the valley of salt pits, eighteen thousand.
13 And he set strongholds in Edom, that Idumeans should serve David. And the Lord saved David in all things, to which he went.
14 Therefore David reigned on all Israel, and did doom and rightwiseness to all his people.
15 Forsooth Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was on the host; and Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was chancellor;
16 and Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe;
17 and Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was on the legions of the Cherethites and Pelethites, keepers of David’s head; soothly the sons of David were the first at the hand of the king.
* CHAPTER 18:3 Also known as Hadarezer.