2 Samuel 10
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
War with the Ammonites
10 Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.(A) 2 Then David said, ‘I’ll show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.’
So David sent his emissaries to console Hanun concerning his father. However, when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, ‘Just because David has sent men with condolences for you, do you really believe he’s showing respect for your father? Instead, hasn’t David sent his emissaries in order to scout out the city, spy on it, and demolish it? ’(B) 4 So Hanun took David’s emissaries, shaved off half their beards,(C) cut their clothes in half at the hips, and sent them away.(D)
5 When this was reported to David, he sent someone to meet them, since they were deeply humiliated. The king said, ‘Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back; then return.’
6 When the Ammonites realised they had become repulsive to David, they hired twenty thousand foot soldiers from the Arameans of Beth-rehob and Zobah, one thousand men from the king of Maacah, and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 David heard about it and sent Joab and all the elite troops. 8 The Ammonites marched out and lined up in battle formation at the entrance to the city gate while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were in the field by themselves. 9 When Joab saw that there was a battle line in front of him and another behind him, he chose some of Israel’s finest young men and lined up in formation to engage the Arameans. 10 He placed the rest of the forces under the command of his brother Abishai. They lined up in formation to engage the Ammonites.
11 ‘If the Arameans are too strong for me,’ Joab said, ‘then you will be my help. However, if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I’ll come to help you. 12 Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God.(E) May the Lord’s will be done.’[a](F)
13 Joab and his troops advanced to fight against the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. So Joab withdrew from the attack against the Ammonites and went to Jerusalem.
15 When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who were beyond the River Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.
17 When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans lined up to engage David in battle and fought against him. 18 But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers.[b] He also struck down Shobach commander of their army, who died there. 19 When all the kings who were Hadadezer’s subjects saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After this, the Arameans were afraid to ever help the Ammonites again.
2 Samuel 10
Names of God Bible
David Defeats Ammon and Aram(A)
10 Later the king of Ammon died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun as his father Nahash showed me kindness.” So David sent his servants to comfort Hanun after his father’s death. But when David’s servants entered Ammonite territory, 3 the Ammonite princes asked their master Hanun, “Do you think David is honoring your father because he sent men to comfort you? Hasn’t David sent his men to explore the city, spy on it, and destroy it?” 4 So Hanun took David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their clothes from the waist down, and sent them away.
5 After David was told what had happened, he sent someone to meet them because they were deeply humiliated. The king said to them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return to Jerusalem.”
6 The Ammonites realized that they had made themselves offensive to David. So they hired the Arameans from Beth Rehob and Zobah (20,000 foot soldiers), the army of the king of Maacah (1,000 men), and the men of Tob (12,000 men).
7 After David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the elite troops. 8 The Ammonites formed a battle line at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah remained by themselves in the open country.
9 When Joab saw he was under attack in front and behind, he took the select troops of Israel and organized them for combat against the Arameans. 10 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the troops. Abishai organized them for combat against the Ammonites.
11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for my troops, be ready to help me. And if the Ammonites are too strong for your troops, I’ll come to help you. 12 Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our Elohim, and Yahweh will do what he considers right.”
13 Then Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, and the Arameans fled. 14 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, the Ammonites fled from Abishai and went into the city. So Joab stopped his campaign against the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
15 Realizing that Israel had defeated them, the Arameans reassembled their troops. 16 Hadadezer sent messengers to get Arameans from beyond the Euphrates River. The Arameans came to Helam with Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, leading them.
17 When David was told about this, he assembled Israel’s army, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Helam. The Arameans formed a battle line against David’s troops and fought him. 18 The Arameans fled from Israel, and David killed 700 chariot drivers and 40,000 horsemen. David struck Shobach dead.
19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that Israel had defeated them, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. And the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
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The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.