18:9 When King Tou 1 of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah, 18:10 he sent his son Hadoram 2 to King David to extend his best wishes 3 and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Tou had been at war with Hadadezer. 4 He also sent various items made of gold, silver, and bronze. 5 18:11 King David dedicated these things to the Lord, 6 along with the silver and gold which he had carried off from all the nations, including 7 Edom, 8 Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and Amalek.
18:12 Abishai son of Zeruiah 9 killed 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. 18:13 He placed garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected 10 David wherever he campaigned. 11
18:14 David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people. 12 18:15 Joab son of Zeruiah was commanding general of 13 the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was secretary; 18:16 Zadok son of Ahitub and Abimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha 14 was scribe; 18:17 Benaiah son of Jehoiada supervised 15 the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were the king’s leading officials. 16
1 tn The name is spelled “Toi” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:9.
2 tn The name is spelled “Joram” in the parallel text in 2 Sam 8:10.
3 tn Heb “to ask concerning him for peace.”
4 tn Heb “and to bless him because he fought with Hadadezer and defeated him, for Hadadezer was a man of battles with Tou.”
5 tn Heb “[along with] all items of gold and silver and bronze.”
6 tn Heb “also them King David made holy to the
7 tn Heb “from.”
8 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:12 of the MT reads “Aram.” However, a few Hebrew
9 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:13 attributes this victory to David.
10 tn Or “delivered.”
11 tn Or “wherever he went.”
12 tn Heb “and he was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”
13 tn Heb “over.”
14 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:17 has the variant spelling “Seraiah.”
15 tn Heb “[was] over.”
16 tn Heb “and the sons of David [were] the heads at the hand of David.” The parallel text of 2 Sam 8:18 identifies them as “priests” (see sn there on the word “priests”).