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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.

26-27 Meanwhile Joab and the Israeli army were successfully ending their siege of Rabbah the capital of Ammon. Joab sent messengers to tell David, “Rabbah and its beautiful harbor are ours![a] 28 Now bring the rest of the army and finish the job, so that you will get the credit for the victory instead of me.”

29-30 So David led his army to Rabbah and captured it. Tremendous amounts of loot were carried back to Jerusalem, and David took the king of Rabbah’s crown—a $50,000 treasure made from solid gold set with gems—and placed it on his own head. 31 He made slaves of the people of the city and made them labor with saws, picks, and axes and work in the brick kilns;[b] that is the way he treated all of the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and the army returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:26 Rabbah and its beautiful harbor are ours, or “I have taken the City of Waters.”
  2. 2 Samuel 12:31 made them labor with saws, picks, and axes and work in the brick kilns, or “killed them with saws and iron harrows, and in the brick kilns.”