1 Chronicles 19
New English Translation
David’s Campaign against the Ammonites
19 Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died and his son succeeded him. 2 David said, “I will express my loyalty[a] to Hanun son of Nahash, for his father was loyal[b] to me.” So David sent messengers to express his sympathy over his father’s death.[c] When David’s servants entered Ammonite territory to visit Hanun and express the king’s sympathy,[d] 3 the Ammonite officials said to Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?[e] No, his servants have come to you so they can get information and spy out the land!”[f] 4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved their beards off.[g] He cut off the lower part of their robes so that their buttocks were exposed[h] and then sent them away. 5 People[i] came and told David what had happened to the men, so he sent messengers to meet them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow again; then you may come back.”
6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them,[j] Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents[k] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram Maacah, and Zobah.[l] 7 They hired 32,000 chariots, along with the king of Maacah and his army, who came and camped in front of Medeba. The Ammonites also assembled from their cities and marched out to do battle.
8 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them.[m] 9 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance to the city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field. 10 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans.[n] 11 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army and they were deployed against the Ammonites. 12 Joab[o] said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me,[p] you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you,[q] I will come to your rescue. 13 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!”[r] 14 So Joab and his men[s] marched toward the Arameans to do battle, and they fled before him. 15 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before Joab’s[t] brother Abishai and withdrew into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem.
16 When the Arameans realized they had been defeated by Israel, they sent for reinforcements from beyond the Euphrates River,[u] led by Shophach the commanding general of Hadadezer’s army.[v] 17 When David was informed, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan River,[w] and marched against them.[x] David deployed his army against the Arameans for battle and they fought against him.[y] 18 The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 7,000[z] Aramean charioteers and 40,000 infantrymen; he also killed Shophach[aa] the commanding general. 19 When Hadadezer’s subjects saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became his subjects. The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “do loyalty.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “did loyalty.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “to console him concerning his father.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “and the servants of David came to the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to console him.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:3 tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
- 1 Chronicles 19:3 tc Heb “Is it not to explore and to overturn and to spy out the land (that) his servants have come to you?” The Hebrew term לַהֲפֹךְ (lahafokh, “to overturn”) seems misplaced in the sequence. Some emend the form to לַחְפֹּר (lakhpor, “to spy out”). The sequence of three infinitives may be a conflation of alternative readings.
- 1 Chronicles 19:4 tn Heb “shaved them.” See v. 5.
- 1 Chronicles 19:4 tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto the buttocks.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:5 tn Heb “they.” The logical referent, though not specified in the Hebrew text, has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn The Hebrew word כִּכַּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or, by extension, to a standard unit of weight. According to the older (Babylonian) standard the “talent” weighed 130 lbs. (58.9 kg), but later this was lowered to 108.3 lbs. (49.1 kg). More recent research suggests the “light” standard talent was 67.3 lbs. (30.6 kg). Using this as the standard for calculation, the Ammonites hired chariots and charioteers for about 33.7 tons (30,600 kg) of silver.
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:6 has “Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:8 tn The words “the news” and “to meet them” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.
- 1 Chronicles 19:10 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:10 has “the Ammonites” in place of “the Arameans” here.tn Heb “and Joab saw that the face of the battle was to him before and behind and he chose from all the best in Israel and arranged to meet Aram.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:12 tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:13 tn Heb “and the Lord, what is good in his eyes, he will do.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:14 tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:15 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 tn Heb “the River,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 tn Heb “and Aram saw that they were struck down before Israel and they sent messengers and brought out Aram which is beyond the River, and Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [was] before them.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:17 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Chronicles 19:17 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:17 “he came to Helam.”tn Heb “and he came to them and was deployed against them.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:17 tn Heb “and David was deployed to meet Aram [for] battle and they fought with him.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:18 tc The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has “seven hundred.”
- 1 Chronicles 19:18 tn The parallel text of 2 Sam 10:18 has the variant spelling “Shobach.”
1 Chronicles 19
Expanded Bible
War with the Ammonites and Arameans(A)
19 When Nahash king of the Ammonites died, his son became king after him. 2 David said, “Nahash ·was loyal [showed kindness] to me, so I will ·be loyal [show kindness] to his son Hanun.” So David sent messengers to ·comfort [express sympathy to] Hanun about his father’s death.
David’s officers went to the land of the Ammonites to ·comfort [express sympathy to] Hanun. 3 But the Ammonite ·leaders [officials; commanders] said to Hanun, “Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to ·comfort you [express sympathy]? No! David sent them to ·study [search; explore] the land and ·capture [conquer; overthrow] it and spy it out.” 4 So Hanun ·arrested [seized] David’s officers. He shaved their beards and cut off their clothes at the ·hips [buttocks; C both intended to shame them]. Then he sent them away.
5 When the people told David what had happened to ·his officers [the men], he sent messengers to meet them, because they were ·very ashamed [greatly humiliated]. King David said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back. Then come home.”
6 ·The Ammonites knew that they had insulted [When the Ammonites realized they had become disgusting/L a stench to] David. So Hanun and the Ammonites sent ·about seventy-four thousand pounds [L one thousand talents] of silver to hire chariots and chariot drivers from ·northwest Mesopotamia [L Aram-naharaim], Aram Maacah, and Zobah. 7 The Ammonites hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his ·army [people]. So they came and set up camp near the town of Medeba. The Ammonites themselves ·came out of [assembled/mustered from] their towns and got ready for battle.
8 When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the ·whole army [entire army of warriors/mighty men]. 9 The Ammonites came out and ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle lines] at the city ·gate [entrance]. The kings who had come to help were out in the ·field [open country] by themselves.
10 Joab saw that there were enemies both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the ·best [elite] soldiers of Israel and ·sent them out to fight [deployed/arrayed them against] the ·Arameans [or Ammonites, 2 Sam. 10:10]. 11 Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. ·Then they went out to fight the Ammonites [or …who was to attack the Ammonites; C possibly Joab attacked the Arameans and Abishai attacked the Ammonites]. 12 Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. 13 Be ·strong [brave; courageous]. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what ·he thinks is right [L is good in his sight].”
14 Then Joab and the army with him went to attack the Arameans, and the Arameans ·ran away [fled before him]. 15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were ·running away [fleeing], they also ·ran away [fled] from Joab’s brother Abishai and ·went back [retreated] to their city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
16 When the Arameans saw that Israel had defeated them, they sent messengers to bring other Arameans from ·east of the Euphrates [L beyond the] River. Their leader was ·Shophach [or Shobach; 2 Sam. 10:18], the commander of Hadadezer’s army.
17 When David heard about this, he ·gathered [mobilized; mustered] all the Israelites, and they crossed over the Jordan River. He ·prepared [positioned; deployed] them for battle, facing the Arameans. The Arameans fought with him, 18 but they ·ran away [fled] from the Israelites. David killed seven thousand [C seven hundred in 2 Sam. 10:18] Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean foot soldiers. He also killed ·Shophach [or Shobach, 2 Sam. 10:18], the commander of the Aramean army.
19 When ·those who served [the subjects/vassals of] Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they made peace with David and ·served him [became his subjects]. So the Arameans ·refused [were unwilling] to help the Ammonites again.
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