2 Samuel 5:17-25
New American Standard Bible
War with the Philistines
17 Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, (A)all the Philistines went up to seek out David; and when David heard about it, he went down to the (B)stronghold. 18 Now the Philistines came and overran (C)the Valley of Rephaim. 19 So (D)David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” And (E)the Lord said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.” 20 Then David came to (F)Baal-perazim and [a]defeated them there; and he said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore he named that place [b]Baal-perazim. 21 And the Philistines abandoned their idols there, so (G)David and his men carried them away.
22 Now (H)the Philistines came up once again and overran the Valley of Rephaim. 23 So (I)David inquired of the Lord, but He said, “You shall not go directly up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the baka-shrubs. 24 And it shall be, when (J)you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the baka-shrubs, then you shall [c]act promptly, for then (K)the Lord will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 25 Then David did so, just as the Lord had commanded him; he struck and killed the Philistines from [d](L)Geba [e]as far as (M)Gezer.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 5:20 Lit David struck
- 2 Samuel 5:20 I.e., the master of breakthroughs
- 2 Samuel 5:24 Or pay attention
- 2 Samuel 5:25 In 1 Chr 14:16, Gibeon
- 2 Samuel 5:25 Lit until you come to
2 Samuel 5:17-25
King James Version
17 But when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines came up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the hold.
18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.
21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
23 And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
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2 Samuel 5:17-25
Living Bible
17 When the Philistines heard that David had been crowned king of Israel, they tried to capture him; but David was told that they were coming and went into the stronghold. 18 The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim.
19 Then David asked the Lord, “Shall I go out and fight against them? Will you defeat them for me?”
And the Lord replied, “Yes, go ahead, for I will give them to you.”
20 So David went out and fought with them at Baal-perazim and defeated them. “The Lord did it!” he exclaimed. “He burst through my enemies like a raging flood.” So he named the place “Bursting.” 21 At that time David and his troops confiscated many idols that had been abandoned by the Philistines. 22 But the Philistines returned and again spread out across the valley of Rephaim.
23 When David asked the Lord what to do, he replied, “Don’t make a frontal attack. Go behind them and come out by the balsam trees. 24 When you hear a sound like marching feet in the tops of the balsam trees, attack! For it will signify that the Lord has prepared the way for you and will destroy them.”
25 So David did as the Lord had instructed him and destroyed the Philistines all the way from Geba to Gezer.
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.