David's army won many victories
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1 Some time later David's army attacked the Philistine army and defeated them. They took control over the entire Philistine area.2 David's army also defeated the army of the Moab people-group. David forced their soldiers to lie down on the ground close to each other. His men killed two out of every three of them. The other Moab people were forced to accept David as their ruler, and they were forced to give to him every year the tax that he demanded.
3 David's army also defeated the army of Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, who ruled the state of Zobah in Syria. That happened when David went to rule again over the area at the upper part of the Euphrates River. 4 David's army captured 1,700 of Hadadezer's soldiers who rode on horses and 20,000 of his other soldiers. They also crippled most of the horses that pulled the chariots, but they spared enough horses to pull 100 chariots.
5 When the army of Syria came from Damascus to help King Hadadezer's army, David's soldiers killed 22,000 of them. 6 Then David stationed groups of his soldiers in their area, and the people of Syria were forced to accept David to be their ruler and to give to David's government every year the tax that he demanded. And Yahweh enabled David's army to win victories wherever they went.
7 David's soldiers took the gold shields that were carried by Hadadezer's officials and brought them to Jerusalem. 8 They also brought to Jerusalem a lot of bronze that they found in Betah and Berothai, two cities that King Hadadezer had previously ruled.
9 When Toi, the king of the city of Hamath in Syria, heard that David's army had defeated the entire army of King Hadadezer, 10 he sent his son Joram to greet King David and to congratulate him about his army defeating Hadadezer's army, which Toi's army had fought many times. Joram brought to David many gifts made from gold, silver, and bronze.
11 King David dedicated all those items to Yahweh. He also dedicated the silver and gold which his army had taken from the nations that they had conquered. 12 They had taken items from the Edom people-group and the Moab people-group, from the Ammon people-group, from the Philistine people, and from the descendants of Amalek, as well as from the people that Hadadezer previously ruled.
13 When David returned after defeating the armies of Syria, he became more famous because his army killed 18,000 soldiers from the Edom people-group in the Salt Valley near the Dead Sea.
14 David stationed groups of his soldiers throughout the Edom area and forced the people there to accept him to be their king. Yahweh enabled David's army to win battles wherever they went.
15 David ruled over all the Israeli people, and he always did for them what was fair and just. 16 Joab was the army commander; Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, was the man who reported to the people everything that David decided that they should do; 17 Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were the priests; Seraiah was the official secretary; 18 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was the commander of David's bodyguards; and David's sons were priests (OR, his advisors).