³ But his sons^(A) did not follow his ways. They turned aside^(B) after dishonest gain and accepted bribes^(C) and perverted^(D) justice.

⁴ So all the elders^(E) of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.^{(F) 5} They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king^(G) to lead^[a](H) us, such as all the other nations^(I) have.”

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king^(J) to lead us,” this displeased^(K) Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen^(L) to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected,^(M) but they have rejected me as their king.^{(N) 8} As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking^(O) me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

¹² Some he will assign to be commanders^(A) of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

²³ And God raised up against Solomon another adversary,^(A) Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer^(B) king of Zobah.

²⁴ When David destroyed Zobah’s army, Rezon gathered a band of men around him and became their leader; they went to Damascus,^(A) where they settled and took control.

² David also defeated the Moabites,^(A) and they became subject to him and brought him tribute.

³ Moreover, David defeated Hadadezer king of Zobah,^(B) in the vicinity of Hamath, when he went to set up his monument at^[a] the Euphrates River.^{(C) 4} David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung^(D) all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

⁵ When the Arameans of Damascus^(E) came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. ⁶ He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought him tribute. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

⁷ David took the gold shields carried by the officers of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ From Tebah^[b] and Kun, towns that belonged to Hadadezer, David took a great quantity of bronze, which Solomon used to make the bronze Sea,^(F) the pillars and various bronze articles.

⁹ When Tou king of Hamath heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hadadezer king of Zobah,