Now when the sons of Ammon saw that (A)they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers and (B)hired the Arameans of (C)Beth-rehob and the (D)Arameans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and the king of (E)Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men. When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors. And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle (F)at the entrance of the [a]city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of (G)Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.

Now when Joab saw that [b]the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans. 10 But the remainder of the people he placed [c]under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon. 11 And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. 12 (H)Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and (I)may the Lord do what is good in His sight.” 13 So Joab and the people who were with him advanced to the battle against the Arameans, and (J)they fled from him. 14 When the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, they also fled from Abishai and entered the city. (K)Then Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

15 When the Arameans saw that they had been [d]defeated by Israel, they assembled together. 16 (L)And Hadadezer sent word and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates River, and they came to Helam; and (M)Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer [e]led them. 17 Now when it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans lined up against David and fought him. 18 But the Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed (N)seven hundred charioteers of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been [f]defeated by Israel, (O)they made peace with Israel and served them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:8 Lit gate
  2. 2 Samuel 10:9 Lit the faces of the battle were against
  3. 2 Samuel 10:10 Lit in the hand of
  4. 2 Samuel 10:15 Lit struck
  5. 2 Samuel 10:16 Lit was before them
  6. 2 Samuel 10:19 Lit struck

When the Ammonites realized that they had created quite a stink with[a] David, they hired 20,000 Aramean mercenaries from Beth-rehob and Zobah, along with the king of Maacah and 1,000 men, and 12,000 men from Tob. In response, David sent out Joab and his entire army of elite soldiers. The Ammonites went out in battle formation at the entrance to the city[b] gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob, along with the army[c] from Tob and Maacah, were out by themselves in the open fields.

When Joab observed that the battle lines were set up to oppose him both in front and behind, he appointed the best troops in Israel and arrayed them to oppose the Arameans, 10 putting the rest of his forces under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them to oppose the Ammonites. 11 He said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, then you are to help me. If the Ammonites prove too strong for you, then I will come help you. 12 Be strong, be courageous on behalf of our people and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what he thinks is best.”

13 So Joab and the soldiers who were with him attacked the Arameans in battle formation, and the Arameans retreated in front of him. 14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans retreating, they also retreated from Abishai back to the city. Then Joab broke off his attack against the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem. 15 After the Arameans realized that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer sent for the Arameans who lived beyond the Euphrates River,[d] and they set out for Helam, with Shobach[e] leading them as commander of Hadadezer’s army.

17 When David learned this, he mustered all of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and approached Helam. The Arameans assembled in battle array to attack David, and started their assault. 18 But the Arameans retreated from Israel, and David’s forces[f] killed 700 of their charioteers, 40,000 soldiers, and mortally wounded Shobach, the commander of their army. As a result, Shobach[g] died there. 19 When all the kings who were allied with[h] Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they sought terms of peace with the Israelis and became subservient to them. Furthermore, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 10:6 Lit. had become odious to
  2. 2 Samuel 10:8 The Heb. lacks city
  3. 2 Samuel 10:8 Lit. men
  4. 2 Samuel 10:16 The Heb. lacks Euphrates
  5. 2 Samuel 10:16 Cf. 1Chr 19:16, which reads Shophach
  6. 2 Samuel 10:18 Lit. David
  7. 2 Samuel 10:18 Lit. he
  8. 2 Samuel 10:19 Lit. were servants of