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David Captures Rabbah

26 Meanwhile, Joab was fighting against Rabbah, the capital of Ammon, and he captured the royal fortifications.[a] 27 Joab sent messengers to tell David, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply.[b] 28 Now bring the rest of the army and capture the city. Otherwise, I will capture it and get credit for the victory.”

29 So David gathered the rest of the army and went to Rabbah, and he fought against it and captured it. 30 David removed the crown from the king’s head,[c] and it was placed on his own head. The crown was made of gold and set with gems, and it weighed seventy-five pounds.[d] David took a vast amount of plunder from the city. 31 He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with[e] saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns.[f] That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:26 Or the royal city.
  2. 12:27 Or captured the city of water.
  3. 12:30a Or from the head of Milcom (as in Greek version). Milcom, also called Molech, was the god of the Ammonites.
  4. 12:30b Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms].
  5. 12:31a Hebrew He also brought out the people [of Rabbah] and put them under.
  6. 12:31b Hebrew and he made them pass through the brick kilns.

Defeat of the Ammonites

26 Meanwhile, Joab fought the Ammonites at Rabbah and captured the royal city. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and captured the city’s water supply.[a] 28 So gather the rest of the troops, attack the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city myself, and it will be named after me.”

29 So David gathered all the troops, marched to Rabbah, fought against it, and captured it. 30 David took Milcom’s[b] crown off his head. It weighed one kikkar of gold and was set with a valuable stone. It was placed on David’s head. The amount of loot David took from the city was huge. 31 He brought out the people who were in the city and put them to work making bricks. David demolished the city with saws, iron picks, and axes;[c] he did this to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:27 Heb uncertain
  2. 2 Samuel 12:30 LXX; MT their king’s crown
  3. 2 Samuel 12:31 Cf LXXL, OL, Tg, 1 Chron 20:3