1 Chronicles 20
New King James Version
Rabbah Is Conquered(A)
20 It(B) happened [a]in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But (C)David stayed at Jerusalem. And (D)Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it. 2 Then David (E)took their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also he brought out the [b]spoil of the city in great abundance. 3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and [c]put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
Philistine Giants Destroyed(F)
4 Now it happened afterward (G)that war broke out at [d]Gezer with the Philistines, at which time (H)Sibbechai the Hushathite killed [e]Sippai, who was one of the sons of [f]the giant. And they were subdued.
5 Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of [g]Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s (I)beam.
6 Yet again (J)there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to [h]the giant. 7 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of [i]Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 20:1 Lit. at the return of the year
- 1 Chronicles 20:2 plunder
- 1 Chronicles 20:3 LXX cut them with
- 1 Chronicles 20:4 Gob, 2 Sam. 21:18
- 1 Chronicles 20:4 Saph, 2 Sam. 21:18
- 1 Chronicles 20:4 Or Raphah
- 1 Chronicles 20:5 Jaare-Oregim, 2 Sam. 21:19
- 1 Chronicles 20:6 Or Raphah
- 1 Chronicles 20:7 Shammah, 1 Sam. 16:9 or Shimeah, 2 Sam. 21:21
1 Chronicles 20
Living Bible
20 The following spring (spring was the season when wars usually began) Joab led the Israeli army in successful attacks against the cities and villages of the people of Ammon. After destroying them, he laid siege to Rabbah and conquered it. Meanwhile, David had stayed in Jerusalem. 2 When David arrived on the scene, he removed the crown from the head of King Milcom[a] of Rabbah and placed it upon his own head. It was made of gold inlaid with gems and weighed seventy-five pounds! David also took great amounts of plunder from the city. 3 He drove the people from the city and set them to work with saws,[b] iron picks, and axes, as was his custom with all the conquered Ammonite peoples. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem.
4 The next war was against the Philistines again, at Gezer. But Sibbecai, a man from Hushath, killed one of the sons of the giant, Sippai, and so the Philistines surrendered. 5 During another war with the Philistines, Elhanan (the son of Jair) killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the giant; the handle of his spear was like a weaver’s beam! 6-7 During another battle, at Gath, a giant with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot (his father was also a giant) defied and taunted Israel; but he was killed by David’s nephew Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimea. 8 These giants were descendants of the giants of Gath, and they were killed by David and his soldiers.
Footnotes
- 1 Chronicles 20:2 Milcom, implied, see 1 Kings 11:5.
- 1 Chronicles 20:3 He . . . set them to work with saws, literally “He conducted them to the saw.” Whether this means that he made them labor with saws or that he sawed them to pieces is uncertain.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.