2 Samuel 8:2 — Compare Translations

27 translations compared side by side

English (YLT) 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young

And he smiteth Moab, and measureth them with a line, causing them to lie down on the earth, and he measureth two lines to put to death, and the fulness of the line to keep alive, and the Moabites are to David for servants, bearers of a present.

English ASV

And he smote Moab, and measured them with the line, making them to lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, and brought tribute.

English Amplified

He defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

English Amplified Classic Bible 1987

English Berean Standard Bible (BSB) 2025

David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

English CSB 2017 - Christian Standard Bible

He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths of those to be put to death and one full length of those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

English Darby 1890 : Public Domain

And he smote the Moabites, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants, [and] brought gifts.

English EASY 2024

David also won a battle against the Moabites. He made the Moabite prisoners lie down on the ground. Then he used a piece of rope to measure them into groups. When he had measured two groups, he would tell his men to kill all those prisoners. When he measured the next group, he would let those prisoners stay alive. So the Moabites were now under David's authority and they began to pay taxes to him.

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

He also defeated the Moabites. He forced them to lie on the ground in a long row. Using a rope to measure, he divided them into groups. Out of every three groups, two groups were killed, and one group was allowed to live. So the Moabites became servants of David and paid tribute to him.

And he defeated Moab and he measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. Two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

English GNT (Good News Translation)

Then he defeated the Moabites. He made the prisoners lie down on the ground and put two out of every three of them to death. So the Moabites became his subjects and paid taxes to him.

English God's Word - GW 1995

He also defeated Moab, made the Moabites lie down on the ground, and measured them with a rope. He measured two lengths which were to be killed, and one length which was to be spared. So the Moabites became David's subjects and paid taxes {to him}.

English HCSB 2004 - Copyrighted Only For Website

He also defeated the Moabites, and after making them lie down on the ground, he measured them off with a cord. He measured every two cord lengths [of those] to be put to death and one length [of those] to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David's subjects and brought tribute.

English KJV 1611

And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts.

English LSB

He also struck Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

English MEV 2014 (Modern English Version)

He also defeated Moab. He measured them with a length of rope, forcing them to lie down on the ground. He measured two lengths of rope to be put to death, but the entirety of one length he allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David, bearing tribute.

English NASB (New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995)

He defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.

English NASU 1989 - New American Standard Update - Only for Website

He also defeated Moab and then measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground. He told off two lengths of line for execution, and a full length to be spared. Thus the Moabites became tributary to David.

English NET Bible - 2005 (New English Translation)

He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute.

English NIRV 1996 - Copyrighted only for Website

David also won the battle over the people of Moab. He made them lie down on the ground. Then he measured them off with a piece of rope. He put two-thirds of them to death. He let the other third remain alive. So the Moabites were brought under David's rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him.

English NIV

David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord. Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute.

English NKJ 1982

Then he defeated Moab. Forcing them down to the ground, he measured them off with a line. With two lines he measured off those to be put to death, and with one full line those to be kept alive. So the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought tribute.

English NLT

David also conquered the land of Moab. He made the people lie down on the ground in a row, and he measured them off in groups with a length of rope. He measured off two groups to be executed for every one group to be spared. The Moabites who were spared became David's servants and brought him tribute money.

English NRSV 1989 - Only for website

He also defeated the Moabites and, making them lie down on the ground, measured them off with a cord; he measured two lengths of cord for those who were to be put to death, and one length for those who were to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

English RSV (Revised Standard Version)

And he defeated Moab, and measured them with a line, making them lie down on the ground; two lines he measured to be put to death, and one full line to be spared. And the Moabites became servants to David and brought tribute.

English TL (The Living Bible) (1971)

He also devastated the land of Moab. He divided his victims by making them lie down side by side in rows. Two-thirds of each row, as measured with a tape, were butchered, and one-third were spared to become David's servants—they paid him tribute each year.

English Tyndale 1537

And he beat the Moabites and measured them with a line, making them lie along the earth, and then meeting the length of two lines to slay, and the length of one line to save a life. And so became the Moabites David's servants and paid tribute.