Chronological

Hanun Shames David’s Men

10 Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died. His son Hanun became the new king after him. ² David said, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son Hanun.” So David sent his officers to comfort Hanun about his father’s death.

David’s officers went to the land of the Ammonites. ³ But the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, their lord, “Do you think that David is trying to honor your father by sending some men to comfort you? No, David sent these men to spy on your city. They plan to make war against you.”

⁴ So Hanun took David’s officers and shaved off one half of their beards. He cut off their clothes at the hips. Then he sent them away.

⁵ When the people told David, he sent messengers to meet his officers. He did this because these men were very ashamed. King David said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards grow again. Then come back home.”

War Against the Ammonites

⁶ The Ammonites saw that they had become David’s enemies, so they hired Arameans from Beth Rehob and Zobah. There were 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers. The Ammonites also hired the king of Maacah with 1000 men and 12,000 men from Tob.

⁷ David heard about this, so he sent Joab and the whole army of powerful men. ⁸ The Ammonites came out and got ready for the battle. They stood at the city gate. The Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah did not stand together with the Ammonites in the field.

⁹ Joab saw that there were enemies in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best Israelite soldiers and lined them up for battle against the Arameans. ¹⁰ Then Joab gave the other men to his brother Abishai to lead against the Ammonites. ¹¹ Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you will help me. If the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. ¹² Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he decides is right.”

¹³ Then Joab and his men attacked the Arameans. The Arameans ran away from Joab and his men. ¹⁴ The Ammonites saw that the Arameans were running away, so they ran away from Abishai and went back to their city.

So Joab came back from the battle with the Ammonites and went back to Jerusalem.

The Arameans Decide to Fight Again

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they came together into one big army. ¹⁶ Hadadezer^[a] sent messengers to bring the Arameans who lived on the other side of the Euphrates River. These Arameans came to Helam. Their leader was Shobach, the captain 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 prepared for battle and attacked, ¹⁸ but David defeated them, and they ran from the Israelites. David killed 700 chariot drivers and 40,000 horse soldiers as well as Shobach, the captain of the Aramean army.

¹⁹ The kings who served Hadadezer saw that the Israelites had defeated them, so they made peace with the Israelites and became their servants. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites again.

The Ammonites Shame David’s Men

19 Nahash was king of the Ammonites. When Nahash died, his son became the new king. ² Then David said, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to Hanun, Nahash’s son.” So David sent messengers to comfort Hanun about the death of his father. David’s messengers went to the country of Ammon to comfort Hanun.

³ But the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun, “Don’t be fooled. David didn’t really send these men to comfort you or to honor your dead father! No, David sent his servants to spy on you and your land. He really wants to destroy your country!” ⁴ So Hanun arrested David’s servants and cut off their beards.^[a] Hanun also cut their clothes off at the hip and sent them away.

⁵ David’s men were too embarrassed to go home. Some people went to David and told him what happened to his men. So King David sent this message to his men: “Stay in the town of Jericho until your beards grow again. Then you can come back home.”

⁶ The Ammonites saw they had caused themselves to become hated enemies of David. Then Hanun and the Ammonites used 75,000 pounds^[b] of silver to buy chariots and chariot drivers from Mesopotamia.^[c] They also got chariots and chariot drivers from the towns of Maacah and Zobah in Aram. ⁷ The Ammonites bought 32,000 chariots. They also paid the king of Maacah and his army to come and help them. The king of Maacah and his people came and set up a camp near the town of Medeba. The Ammonites themselves came out of their towns and got ready for battle.

⁸ David heard that the Ammonites were getting ready for war. So he sent Joab and the whole army of Israel to fight the Ammonites. ⁹ The Ammonites came out and got ready for battle. They were near the city gate. The kings who had come to help stayed out in the fields by themselves.

¹⁰ Joab saw that there were two army groups ready to fight against him. One group was in front of him and the other group was behind him. So Joab chose some of the best soldiers of Israel and sent them out to fight against the Aramean army. ¹¹ He put the rest of the Israelite army under his brother Abishai’s command. These soldiers went out to fight against the Ammonite army. ¹² Joab said to Abishai, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you. ¹³ Let’s be brave and strong while we fight for our people and for the cities of our God! May the Lord do what he thinks is right.”

¹⁴ Joab and the army with him attacked the Aramean army. The Arameans ran away from Joab and his army. ¹⁵ When the Ammonite army saw that the Aramean army was running away, they also ran away. They ran away from Abishai and his army. The Ammonites went back to their city, and Joab went back to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ The Aramean leaders saw that Israel had defeated them. So they sent messengers to get help from the Arameans living east of the Euphrates River. Shophach was the commander of Hadadezer’s army from Aram. Shophach also led the other Aramean soldiers.

¹⁷ David heard the news that the Arameans were gathering for battle, so he gathered all the Israelites. David led them across the Jordan River, and they came face to face with the Arameans. David got his army ready for battle and they attacked the Arameans. ¹⁸ The Arameans ran away from the Israelites. David and his army killed 7000 Aramean chariot drivers and 40,000 Aramean soldiers. David and his army also killed Shophach, the commander of the Aramean army.

¹⁹ When Hadadezer’s officers saw that Israel had defeated them, they made peace with David. They became his servants. So the Arameans refused to help the Ammonites again.

To the director: A song of David.