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David and the Ammonites

10 Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him.[a] David said, “I will express my loyalty[b] to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal[c] to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death.[d] When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?[e] No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!”[f]

So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed,[g] and then sent them away. Messengers[h] told David what had happened,[i] so he sent them to the men who were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:1 tn Heb “reigned in his place.”
  2. 2 Samuel 10:2 tn Heb “do loyalty.”
  3. 2 Samuel 10:2 tn Heb “did loyalty.”
  4. 2 Samuel 10:2 tn Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”
  5. 2 Samuel 10:3 tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”
  6. 2 Samuel 10:3 tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”
  7. 2 Samuel 10:4 tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto their buttocks.”
  8. 2 Samuel 10:5 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  9. 2 Samuel 10:5 tn The words “what had happened” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

The Ammonites Dishonor David’s Men

10 (A)Now it happened afterwards, that (B)the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. So David said, “I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of (C)Nahash, just as his father showed lovingkindness to me.” So David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon. But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? (D)Has David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” So Hanun took David’s servants and (E)shaved off half of their beards, and (F)cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. Then they told it to David. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, “[a]Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:5 Lit Return to