Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

And the Philistines made war again against Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David growing faint,

And the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought with the Philistines. And David was exhausted.

Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became faint.

And again have the Philistines war with Israel, and David goeth down, and his servants with him, and they fight with the Philistines; and David is weary,

And the Philistines went to war again with Israel; and David went down with his people, and while they were at Gob they had a fight with the Philistines:

The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines, and David became exhausted.

Then the Philistines again undertook a battle against Israel. And David descended, and his servants with him, and they fought against the Philistines. But when David grew faint,

This, like the preceding paragraph 2-Samuel 21:1-14, is manifestly a detached and unconnected extract. It is probably taken from some history of David's wars, apparently the same as furnished the materials for 2 Sam. 5; 8; 23:8-39. There is no direct clue to the time when the events here related took place, but it was probably quite in the early part of David's reign, while he was still young and active, after the war described in 2 Sam. 5. The Book of Chronicles places these Philistine battles immediately after the taking of Rabbah of the Ammonites 1-Chronicles 20:4-8, but omits David's adventure 2-Samuel 21:15-17.

Moreover the Philistines had yet war - There is no mention of this war in the parallel place, 1-Chronicles 20:4, etc.
David waxed faint - This circumstance is nowhere else mentioned.

Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel,.... Besides what is before recorded in this and the preceding book; being animated to it partly by the number of giants among them, and partly by the decline of David's life, and it may be chiefly by the insurrections and rebellions in Israel; though some think that these battles were not after the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba, and the affair of the Gibeonites, though here recorded; but before, and quickly after the war with the Ammonites, next to which they are placed in 1-Chronicles 20:1; but they seem to be placed here in their proper order:
and David went down, and his servants with him; to the borders of the Philistines, perceiving they were preparing to make war against him:
and fought against the Philistines; engaged in a battle with them:
and David waxed faint; in the battle, not able to bear the fatigues of war, and wield his armour as he had used, being in the decline of life; after he had been engaged a while, his spirits began to fail, not through fear, but through feebleness; but, according to Josephus, it was through weariness in pursuing the enemy put to flight, which the following person perceived, and turned upon him (y).
(y) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect. 1.

These events seem to have taken place towards the end of David's reign. David fainted, but he did not flee, and God sent help in the time of need. In spiritual conflicts, even strong saints sometimes wax faint; then Satan attacks them furiously; but those who stand their ground and resist him, shall be relieved and made more than conquerors. Death is a Christian's last enemy, and a son of Anak; but through Him that triumphed for us, believers shall be more than conquerors at last, even over that enemy.

Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel--Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage and stirred them up to renewed inroads on the Hebrew territory. Four successive contests they provoked during the latter period of David's reign, in the first of which the king ran so imminent a risk of his life that he was no longer allowed to encounter the perils of the battlefield.
The song contained in this chapter is the same as the eighteenth Psalm, where the full commentary will be given [see on Psalm 18:1, &c.]. It may be sufficient simply to remark that Jewish writers have noticed a great number of very minute variations in the language of the song as recorded here, from that embodied in the Book of Psalm--which may be accounted for by the fact that this, the first copy of the poem, was carefully revised and altered by David afterwards, when it was set to the music of the tabernacle. This inspired ode was manifestly the effusion of a mind glowing with the highest fervor of piety and gratitude, and it is full of the noblest imagery that is to be found within the range even of sacred poetry. It is David's grand tribute of thanksgiving for deliverance from his numerous and powerful enemies, and establishing him in the power and glory of the kingdom.

Heroic Acts Performed in the Wars with the Philistines. - The brief accounts contained in these verses of different heroic feats were probably taken from a history of David's wars drawn up in the form of chronicles, and are introduced here as practical proofs of the gracious deliverance of David out of the hand of all his foes, for which he praises the Lord his God in the psalm of thanksgiving which follows, so that the enumeration of these feats is to be regarded as supplying a historical basis for the psalm.