A Prayer After a Defeat

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lily of the ·Agreement [Testimony].” A miktam [^Cperhaps “inscription”] of David. For teaching. When David fought the Arameans of ·northwest Mesopotamia [Naharaim; ^Lthe Two Rivers] and Zobah, and when Joab returned and ·defeated [^Lstruck] twelve thousand ·Edomites at the Valley of Salt [2 Sam. 8; 1 Chr. 18].

David Wins Many Battles^(A)

8 Later, David ·defeated [^Lstruck] the Philistines, ·conquered [subdued] them, and took ·the city of Metheg Ammah [or a city of importance; ^Cperhaps a reference to Gath (1 Chr. 18:1)].

² He also ·defeated [^Lstruck] the people of Moab. He made them lie on the ground, and then he used a rope to measure them. ·Those who were measured within two rope lengths were killed, but those who were within the next rope length were allowed to live [He put to death two measured groups for every one measured group he allowed to live]. So the people of Moab became ·servants [subjects] of David and ·gave him the payment he demanded [paid/brought him tribute].

³ David also ·defeated [^Lstruck] Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to ·take control again at [extend his power/rule/^Lhand over; or restore his monument at] the Euphrates River. ⁴ David captured ·one thousand chariots, seven thousand men who rode in chariots [or 1,700 charioteers], and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He ·crippled [hamstrung] all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

⁵ ·Arameans [Syrians] from Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, but David ·killed [^Lstruck] twenty-two thousand of them. ⁶ Then David put ·groups [garrisons] of soldiers in Damascus in Aram. The ·Arameans [Syrians] became David’s ·servants [subjects] and ·gave him the payment he demanded [paid/brought him tribute]. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

⁷ David took the shields of gold that had belonged to Hadadezer’s ·officers [^Lservants] and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah and Berothai, which had been cities under Hadadezer’s control.

⁹ Toi king of Hamath heard that David had ·defeated [^Lstruck] all the army of Hadadezer. ¹⁰ So Toi sent his son Joram to greet and ·congratulate [bless] King David for defeating Hadadezer. (Hadadezer had been at war with Toi.) Joram brought ·items [objects; articles] made of silver, gold, and bronze. ¹¹ King David ·gave [dedicated; consecrated] them to the Lord, along with the silver and gold he had taken from the other nations he had ·defeated [subdued; subjugated]. ¹² These nations were ·Edom [^LAram; ^Cthe Hebrew has Aram (Syria), but the context suggests Edom], Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. David also gave the Lord ·what he had taken from [the spoil/plunder of] Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

¹³ David ·was famous [^Lmade a name for himself] after he returned from ·defeating [or killing; ^Lstriking] eighteen thousand ·Arameans [or Edomites; 1 Chr. 18:12; Ps. 60 title] in the Valley of Salt. ¹⁴ He put ·groups [garrisons] of soldiers all over Edom, and all the Edomites became his ·servants [subjects]. The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

War with the Ammonites and Arameans

10 When Nahash king of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] died, his son Hanun became king after him. ² David said, “Nahash ·was loyal [showed kindness; ^Ckept treaty obligations] to me, so I will ·be loyal [show kindness] to his son Hanun.” So David sent his ·messengers [^Lservants] to ·comfort [console; express sympathy/condolences to] Hanun about his father’s death.

David’s ·officers [^Lservants] went to the land of the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]. ³ But the ·Ammonite leaders [^Lprinces/commanders of the sons/descendants of Ammon] said to Hanun, their master, “Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to ·comfort [console; sympathize with] you? No! David sent them to ·study [explore; search] the city and spy it out and ·capture [overthrow] it!” ⁴ So Hanun ·arrested [seized] David’s ·officers [^Lservants]. To shame them he shaved off half their beards and cut off their clothes at the ·hips [^Lbuttocks]. Then he sent them away.

⁵ When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet ·his officers [^Lthe men] because they were ·very ashamed [humiliated]. King David said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back. Then come home.”

⁶ ·The Ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So [^LWhen the sons/descendants of Ammon realized they had become odious to/greatly offended David,] they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah. They also hired the king of Maacah with a thousand men and twelve thousand men from Tob.

⁷ When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army [^Lwith all its warriors]. ⁸ The ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] came out and ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle formations] at the city gate. The ·Arameans [Syrians] from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah were out in the field by themselves.

⁹ Joab saw that there were ·enemies [battle lines] both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the ·best soldiers [elite troops] of Israel and ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Arameans [Syrians]. ¹⁰ Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. Then he ·sent them out to fight [deployed them against] the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon]. ¹¹ Joab said to Abishai, “If the ·Arameans [Syrians] are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] are too strong for you, I will help you. ¹² Be strong. ·We must fight bravely [Let us show ourselves courageous] for our people and the cities of our God. ·The Lord will [May the Lord] do what he thinks is right.”

¹³ Then Joab and the army with him ·went [advanced] to attack the ·Arameans [Syrians], and the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·ran away [fled before him]. ¹⁴ When the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] saw that the ·Arameans [Syrians] were ·running away [fleeing], they also ·ran away [fled] from Abishai and ·went back [retreated] to their city. So Joab returned from the battle with the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the ·Arameans [Syrians] saw that Israel had defeated them, they came together into one big army. ¹⁶ Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the ·Arameans [Syrians] from ·east of the Euphrates River [^Lbeyond the river], and they went to Helam. Their leader was Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

¹⁷ When David heard about this, he gathered all the Israelites together. They crossed over the Jordan River and went to Helam. There the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle formations] and attacked him. ¹⁸ But the ·Arameans [Syrians] ·ran away [fled] from the Israelites. David killed seven hundred Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean ·horsemen [or foot soldiers]. He also killed Shobach, the commander of the Aramean army.

¹⁹ When the kings who ·served [were allied with; ^Lwere the servants of] Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they ·made peace with [surrendered to] the Israelites and served them. And the ·Arameans [Syrians] were afraid to help the ·Ammonites [^Lsons/descendants of Ammon] again.

War with the Ammonites and Arameans^(A)

19 When Nahash king of the Ammonites died, his son became king after him. ² David said, “Nahash ·was loyal [showed kindness] to me, so I will ·be loyal [show kindness] to his son Hanun.” So David sent messengers to ·comfort [express sympathy to] Hanun about his father’s death.

David’s officers went to the land of the Ammonites to ·comfort [express sympathy to] Hanun. ³ But the Ammonite ·leaders [officials; commanders] said to Hanun, “Do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to ·comfort you [express sympathy]? No! David sent them to ·study [search; explore] the land and ·capture [conquer; overthrow] it and spy it out.” ⁴ So Hanun ·arrested [seized] David’s officers. He shaved their beards and cut off their clothes at the ·hips [buttocks; ^Cboth intended to shame them]. Then he sent them away.

⁵ When the people told David what had happened to ·his officers [the men], he sent messengers to meet them, because they were ·very ashamed [greatly humiliated]. King David said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back. Then come home.”

⁶ ·The Ammonites knew that they had insulted [When the Ammonites realized they had become disgusting/^La stench to] David. So Hanun and the Ammonites sent ·about seventy-four thousand pounds [^Lone thousand talents] of silver to hire chariots and chariot drivers from ·northwest Mesopotamia [^LAram-naharaim], Aram Maacah, and Zobah. ⁷ The Ammonites hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his ·army [people]. So they came and set up camp near the town of Medeba. The Ammonites themselves ·came out of [assembled/mustered from] their towns and got ready for battle.

⁸ When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the ·whole army [entire army of warriors/mighty men]. ⁹ The Ammonites came out and ·prepared for battle [drew up in battle lines] at the city ·gate [entrance]. The kings who had come to help were out in the ·field [open country] by themselves.

¹⁰ Joab saw that there were enemies both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the ·best [elite] soldiers of Israel and ·sent them out to fight [deployed/arrayed them against] the ·Arameans [or Ammonites, 2 Sam. 10:10]. ¹¹ Joab put the rest of the army under the command of Abishai, his brother. ·Then they went out to fight the Ammonites [or …who was to attack the Ammonites; ^Cpossibly Joab attacked the Arameans and Abishai attacked the Ammonites]. ¹² Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. Or, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. ¹³ Be ·strong [brave; courageous]. We must fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what ·he thinks is right [^Lis good in his sight].”

¹⁴ Then Joab and the army with him went to attack the Arameans, and the Arameans ·ran away [fled before him]. ¹⁵ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were ·running away [fleeing], they also ·ran away [fled] from Joab’s brother Abishai and ·went back [retreated] to their city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Arameans saw that Israel had defeated them, they sent messengers to bring other Arameans from ·east of the Euphrates [^Lbeyond the] River. Their leader was ·Shophach [or Shobach; 2 Sam. 10:18], the commander of Hadadezer’s army.

¹⁷ When David heard about this, he ·gathered [mobilized; mustered] all the Israelites, and they crossed over the Jordan River. He ·prepared [positioned; deployed] them for battle, facing the Arameans. The Arameans fought with him, ¹⁸ but they ·ran away [fled] from the Israelites. David killed seven thousand [^Cseven hundred in 2 Sam. 10:18] Aramean chariot drivers and forty thousand Aramean foot soldiers. He also killed ·Shophach [or Shobach, 2 Sam. 10:18], the commander of the Aramean army.

¹⁹ When ·those who served [the subjects/vassals of] Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they made peace with David and ·served him [became his subjects]. So the Arameans ·refused [were unwilling] to help the Ammonites again.