Clearing Out the Giants

20 At the turn of the year, the season when kings go out to war, Joab led out the army and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David remained in Jerusalem. Joab smote Rabbah and left it in ruins. ² David took the crown from the head of their king—its weight was found to be a talent^[a] of gold and it was set with precious stones—and it was placed on David’s head. He took a vast amount of spoils from the city. ³ Furthermore, he removed the people who were in it and set them to work with saws, sharp iron tools and axes. Thus he did to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴ Now it came about after this, that war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and they were subdued. ⁵ Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear had a shaft like a weaver’s beam. ⁶ Once again there was a battle at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had 24 fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot. He too also descended from the giants. ⁷ When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, struck him down.

⁸ These were descendants of the giants in Gath; they fell by the hand of David and his servants.