1 Chronicles 19:6-19
Legacy Standard Bible
6 Then the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David. So Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent [a]1,000 talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah, and (A)from Zobah. 7 So they hired for themselves 32,000 chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped before (B)Medeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to battle. 8 Then David heard of it, and he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. 9 And the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves for battle at the entrance of the city. But the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.
David Defeats Ammon and Aram
10 Then Joab saw that the [b]battle was set against him in front and in the rear. So he chose from all the choice men of Israel and [c]they arranged themselves to meet the Arameans. 11 But the remainder of the people he put in the hand of [d]Abshai his brother; and they arranged themselves to meet the sons of Ammon. 12 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall save me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will save you. 13 Be strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may Yahweh do what is good in His sight.” 14 So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Arameans for the battle, and they fled before him. 15 Now the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled. So they themselves also fled before Abshai his brother and came into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.
16 Then the Arameans saw that they had been [e]defeated by Israel. So they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the [f]River, and Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [g]led them. 17 And it was told to David, so he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and arranged for battle against them. So David arranged them in battle to meet the Arameans. And they fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army. 19 Then the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were [h]defeated by Israel. So they made peace with David and served him. And the Arameans were not willing to save the sons of Ammon anymore.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 Approx. 38 tons or 34 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 1 Chronicles 19:10 Lit the face of the battle
- 1 Chronicles 19:10 Lit he...himself
- 1 Chronicles 19:11 In 2 Sam 10:10, Abishai
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 Lit smitten before
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 The Euphrates River
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 Lit before
- 1 Chronicles 19:19 Lit smitten before
1 Chronicles 19:6-19
New Living Translation
6 When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 75,000 pounds[a] of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah. 7 They also hired 32,000 chariots and secured the support of the king of Maacah and his army. These forces camped at Medeba, where they were joined by the Ammonite troops that Hanun had recruited from his own towns. 8 When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. 9 The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city, while the other kings positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.
10 When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. 11 He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. 12 “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. 13 Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
14 When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. 15 And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they also ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. Then Joab returned to Jerusalem.
16 The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel, so they sent messengers and summoned additional Aramean troops from the other side of the Euphrates River.[b] These troops were under the command of Shobach,[c] the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.
17 When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and positioned his troops in battle formation. Then David engaged the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him. 18 But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army. 19 When Hadadezer’s allies saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to David and became his subjects. After that, the Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 19:6 Hebrew 1,000 talents [34,000 kilograms].
- 19:16a Hebrew the river.
- 19:16b As in parallel text at 2 Sam 10:16; Hebrew reads Shophach; also in 19:18.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
