And: since the conjunction here introduces the discussion of the defeat of a different group of people, it will probably be better translated “Then” (Anderson as well as Good News Translation), “Also” (An American Translation, New American Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, and Anchor Bible), or possibly “Next.”
The Hebrew text describes in some detail a mass execution of the defeated Moabites. The Hebrew says that “David defeated Moab and measured them.” Most interpreters understand this to mean that he “measured” the defeated soldiers, not all of the people in the country of Moab. Commentators often express surprise at the savage way in which the Moabites were treated, since David’s great-grandmother is said to be from Moab (Ruth 4.21-22), and the Moabites had been helpful to David’s family (1 Sam 22.3-4). The ancient Greek and Latin versions reduce the ratio of those killed to one-half instead of two-thirds. And the parallel passage in 1 Chr 18.2 does not mention the killings. But the meaning of the passage here must be translated as it stands. It will probably not be a good idea to render literally the idea measured them with a line, or as Fox translates, “he measured them with a rope.” The important elements to retain in translation are the fact that the prisoners were required to lie down on the ground, and that two out of every three of them were put to death. A possible model for this is “He forced the prisoners to lie down on the ground in three lines. He had all those in two of the lines killed. He allowed only those in the third line to live.”
The Moabites became servants: this, of course, refers to the Moabites that remained after the other two-thirds were killed. For this reason some translators prefer to say “the rest of the people of Moab,” “the remaining Moabites,” or “those people of Moab who had survived.”
Brought tribute: since this was not a one-time affair, it may be better to translate something like “started to bring gifts.” Commentators observe that the tribute may have consisted of sheep and wool (compare 2 Kgs 3.4) rather than money, which is probably implied by the Good News Translation rendering “taxes.” So it may be better to say “regularly brought gifts” or “gave him what he demanded.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .