Daily Text and Bible Reading: Wednesday, May 14 [Press play below]

18.1 Some time later, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and its dependent towns out of the hands of the Philistines.
18.2 Then he defeated Moab, and the Moabites became David’s servants and brought tribute.
18.3 David defeated King Hadadezer of Zobah near Hamath as he was on his way to establish his authority at the Euphrates River.
18.4 David captured 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers from him. Then David hamstrung all but 100 of the chariot horses.
18.5 When the Syrians of Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 of the Syrians.
18.6 David then established garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became David’s servants and brought tribute. Jehovah gave David victory wherever he went.
18.7 Moreover, David took the circular shields of gold from the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem.
18.8 From Tibhath and Cun, cities of Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of copper. With it Solomon made the copper Sea, the pillars, and the copper utensils.
18.9 When King Tou of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer of Zobah,
18.10 he immediately sent his son Hadoram to King David to ask about his welfare and to congratulate him because he had fought and defeated Hadadezer (for Hadadezer had often fought against Tou), and he brought all sorts of articles of gold, silver, and copper.
18.11 King David sanctified these to Jehovah, along with the silver and the gold that he had carried off from all the nations: from Edom and Moab, from the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites.
18.12 Abishai the son of Zeruiah struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
18.13 He established garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. Jehovah gave David victory wherever he went.
18.14 David kept reigning over all Israel, and he was administering justice and righteousness for all his people.
18.15 Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army, Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder,
18.16 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests, and Shavsha was secretary.
18.17 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And David’s sons were first in position next to the king.

19.1 Later Nahash the king of the Ammonites died, and his son became king in his place.
19.2 At that David said: “I will show loyal love toward Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed loyal love toward me.” So David sent messengers to offer him comfort over the loss of his father. But when David’s servants came into the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hanun,
19.3 the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun: “Do you think that David is honoring your father by sending comforters to you? Is it not to make a thorough search and to overthrow you and to spy out the land that his servants have come to you?”
19.4 So Hanun took the servants of David and shaved them and cut their garments in half at their buttocks and sent them away.
19.5 When David was told about the men, he at once sent others to meet them, because the men had been deeply humiliated; and the king told them: “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then return.”
19.6 In time the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, so Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 silver talents to hire chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.
19.7 Thus they hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his people. Then they came and camped before Medeba. The Ammonites gathered together from their cities and came out for the battle.
19.8 When David heard about it, he sent Joab and the entire army, including his mightiest warriors.
19.9 And the Ammonites went out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the city while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open field.
19.10 When Joab saw that the battle charges were coming against him from the front and the rear, he chose some of the best troops in Israel and drew them up in battle formation to meet the Syrians.
19.11 He put the rest of the men under the command of his brother Abishai, in order to draw them up in battle formation to meet the Ammonites.
19.12 Then he said: “If the Syrians become too strong for me, then you must come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites become too strong for you, I will rescue you.
19.13 We must be strong and courageous for our people and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah will do what is good in his eyes.”
19.14 Then Joab and his men advanced to meet the Syrians in battle, and they fled from before him.
19.15 When the Ammonites saw that the Syrians had fled, they also fled from his brother Abishai and went into the city. After that Joab came to Jerusalem.
19.16 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Syrians in the region of the River, with Shophach the chief of the army of Hadadezer leading them.
19.17 When the report was made to David, he immediately gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan and came to them and drew up in battle formation against them. David drew up in battle formation to meet the Syrians, and they fought against him.
19.18 But the Syrians fled from Israel; and David killed 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers of the Syrians, and he put Shophach the chief of the army to death.
19.19 When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they promptly made peace with David and became his subjects; and Syria did not want to help the Ammonites anymore.

20.1 At the start of the year, at the time when kings go on campaigns, Joab led a military expedition and devastated the land of the Ammonites; he came and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and tore it down.
20.2 Then David took the crown of Malcam from its head, and found that it weighed a talent of gold, and in it there were precious stones; and it was placed on David’s head. He also took a vast amount of spoil from the city.
20.3 And he brought out the people who were in it and put them to work at sawing stones and at working with sharp iron instruments and with axes. That was what David did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Finally David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.
20.4 After this, war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines. At that time Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, who was a descendant of the Rephaim, and they were subdued.
20.5 And there was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear had a shaft like the beam of loom workers.
20.6 War broke out yet again at Gath, where there was a man of extraordinary size, with 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot, 24 in all; and he too was a descendant of the Rephaim.
20.7 He kept taunting Israel. So Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, struck him down.
20.8 These were descendants of the Rephaim in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.