Rabbah Is Captured

^26 (A)Now Joab ^(B)fought against ^(C)Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city.

The Capture of Rabbah

20 ^(A)In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led out the army and ravaged the country of the Ammonites and came and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. And ^(B)Joab struck down Rabbah and overthrew it. ^2 (C)And David took the crown of their king from his head. He found that it weighed a talent^[a] of gold, and in it was a precious stone. And it was placed on David's head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. ³ And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor^{[b] (D)}with saws and iron picks and axes.^[c] And thus David did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

¹¹ (For ^(A)only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of ^(B)the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in ^(C)Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits^[a] was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the ^(D)common cubit.^[b])

²⁵ David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”