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26 Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27 Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters. 28 Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.”

29 David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. 30 He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent[a] of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. He brought a great quantity of plunder out of the city. 31 He brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, under iron picks, under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln; and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 12:30 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces

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.