1    ^noteSome time afterwards Nahash king of the Ammonites died and was succeeded by his son. 2   David said, ‘I must keep up the same loyal friendship with Hanun son of Nahash as his father showed me’, and he sent a mission to condole with him on the death of his father. But when David's envoys entered the country of the Ammonites to condole with Hanun, 3   the Ammonite princes said to Hanun, ‘Do you suppose David means to do honour to your father when he sends you his condolences? These men of his are spies whom he has sent to find out how to overthrow the country.’ 4   So Hanun took David's servants, and he shaved them, cut off half their garments up to the hips, and dismissed them. 5   When David heard how they had been treated, he sent to meet them, for they were deeply humiliated, and ordered them to wait in Jericho and not to return until their beards had grown again. 6   The Ammonites knew that they had brought themselves into bad odour with David, so Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, ^note Maacah, and Aram-zobah. ^note 7   They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba, while the Ammonites came from their cities and mustered for

David king over Israel battle. 8   When David heard of it, he sent out Joab and all the fighting men. 9   The Ammonites came and took up their position at the entrance to the city, while the allied kings took up theirs in the open country. 10   When Joab saw that he was threatened both front and rear, he detailed some picked Israelite troops and drew them up facing the Aramaeans. 11   The rest of his forces he put under his brother Abishai, who took up a position facing the Ammonites. 12   ‘If the Aramaeans prove too strong for me,’ he said, ‘you must come to my relief; and if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I will relieve you. 13   Courage! Let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities ^note of our God. And the Lord's will be done.’ 14   But when Joab and his men came to close quarters with the Aramaeans, they put them to flight; 15   and when the Ammonites saw them in flight, they too fled before his brother Abishai and entered the city. 16   Then Joab came to Jerusalem. The Aramaeans saw that they had been worsted by Israel, and they sent messengers to summon other Aramaeans from the Great Bend of the Euphrates under Shophach, commander of Hadadezer's army. 17   Their movement was reported to David, who immediately mustered all the forces of Israel, crossed the Jordan and advanced against them and took up battle positions. The Aramaeans likewise took up positions facing David and engaged him, ^note but were put to flight by Israel. 18   David slew seven thousand Aramaeans in chariots and forty thousand infantry, killing Shophach the commander of the army. 19   When Hadadezer's men saw that they had been worsted by Israel, they sued for peace and submitted to David. The Aramaeans were never again willing to give support to the Ammonites.

Previous section

Next section