Chapter 19

David’s Battles with the Ammonites. ¹ Sometime after this, Nahash, the king of the Ammonites, died, and his son reigned in his stead. ² David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent emissaries to console him with regard to his father. David’s servants came to the land of Ammon, to console Hanun.

³ The Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, “Do you really think that David is honoring your father by sending men to console you? Do you not see that David has sent his servants to overthrow you and to spy out the land?” ⁴ Hanun, therefore, seized David’s servants, shaving them and cutting their garments up to their hips. He then sent them away.

⁵ Some men came in and told David about what had happened to the men, so he sent someone to meet them, for the men were terribly embarrassed. The king told them, “Wait at Jericho until your beards grow back, and then return.”

⁶ The Ammonites realized that they had become abhorrent to David, so Hanun and the Ammonites sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, Aram, and Zobah. ⁷ They hired thirty-two thousand chariots for themselves along with the king of Maacah and his people. They came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from out of their cities and went out to fight.

⁸ David heard about this, so he sent Joab and his army of brave warriors out. ⁹ The Ammonites came and arranged themselves in battle line at the gate to the city while the kings who had come with them stood in the fields by themselves.

¹⁰ Joab saw that they were arranged in battle line both in front of him and behind him, so he chose some of the best men in Israel and placed them up against the Arameans. ¹¹ He placed the rest of the people under the command of Abishai, his brother, and they lined up against the Ammonites. ¹² He said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³ Be brave and let us be strong for our people and the cities of God. May the Lord do what he judges to be right.”

¹⁴ Joab and the people who were with him drew up to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they also fled before Abishai, his brother. They went into the city, and Joab returned to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they sent messengers to summon the Arameans who lived beyond the river. Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, led them.

¹⁷ When David was told, he gathered all of Israel together and crossed over the Jordan. He came upon them and lined up for battle against them. David set up his troops, and they fought against him.

¹⁸ The Arameans fled from before David, and he slew seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach, the commander of the army.

¹⁹ When Hadadezer’s servants saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his vassals. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.