26 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah(A) of the Ammonites and captured the royal citadel. 27 Joab then sent messengers to David, saying, “I have fought against Rabbah and taken its water supply. 28 Now muster the rest of the troops and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will take the city, and it will be named after me.”

29 So David mustered the entire army and went to Rabbah, and attacked and captured it. 30 David took the crown(B) from their king’s[a] head, and it was placed on his own head. It weighed a talent[b] of gold, and it was set with precious stones. David took a great quantity of plunder from the city 31 and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking.[c] David did this to all the Ammonite(C) towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:30 Or from Milkom’s (that is, Molek’s)
  2. 2 Samuel 12:30 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
  3. 2 Samuel 12:31 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

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.