After this, David defeated the Philistines and brought their pride low; wrested from them, too, the possession of Geth and its daughter cities.

He also defeated Moab, and Moab became tributary to king David.

He defeated Adarezer, king of Soba in the Hemath country, when he marched out to extend his domains up to the river Euphrates;

a thousand chariots he took from him, with seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand that fought on foot, and cut the hamstrings of the horses, but kept a hundred teams for himself.

When the Syrians of Damascus came out to reinforce Adarezer king of Soba, David routed their army of twenty-two thousand,

and put a garrison of his own in Damascus, to make Syria his tributary vassal. In every enterprise he undertook, the Lord stood by him.

All the golden trappings which Adarezer’s men wore, David carried off and brought to Jerusalem;

from Thebath, too, and from Chun, cities in Adarezer’s dominion, he carried away great stores of bronze, that Solomon used afterwards for the basin, the pillars, and the other brazen furnishings of the temple.

When the news of David’s victory over Adarezer’s forces reached Thou, king of Hemath,

he sent his son Adoram to make a treaty with him, and to wish him well over the conquest and rout of Adarezer, who was Thou’s enemy.

All the gold and silver and bronze ornaments, all the silver and the gold he took from so many nations, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines and Amalecites, king David consecrated to the Lord.

It was Abisai, son of Sarvia, that defeated eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of the Salt-pits,

and put a garrison in Edom to secure its loyalty to king David. Thus the Lord protected David in all his enterprises;

the whole of Israel was under his rule, and to all his people he administered justice and gave award.

His army was commanded by Joab, son of Sarvia, and Josaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the records;

the priests were Sadoc, son of Achitob, and Achimelech, son of Abiathar, and Susa was secretary;

Banaias, son of Joiada was at the head of the Cerethites and Phelethites, and David’s sons, too, held high office about the king’s person.✻