Second Book of Samuel 10

¹ After this, the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him.

² David thought, ‘I will show the same kindness for Hanun son of Nahash as his father showed me’. And through his servants David sent him his condolences on his father’s death. But when David’s servants reached the land of the Ammonites,

³ the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their master, ‘Do you imagine David means to honour your father when he sends you messengers of sympathy? On the contrary, the reason why David has sent his servants to you is to explore the city,[*a] to reconnoitre it and so overthrow it.’

⁴ Whereupon Hanun seized David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut their clothes half-way up to the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ When David was told, he sent someone to meet them, for the men were covered with shame. ‘Stay in Jericho’ the king said ‘until your beards have grown again, and come back then.’

⁶ The Ammonites saw that they had incurred the enmity of David and accordingly sent messengers to hire the Aramaeans of Beth-rehob and the Aramaeans of Zobah, twenty thousand foot; also the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.

⁷ When David heard this, he sent Joab with all the common soldiers and the champions.[*b]

⁸ The Ammonites marched out and drew up their line of battle at the approaches to the gate, while the Aramaeans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah kept their distance in the open country.

⁹ Joab, seeing that he had to fight on two fronts, to his front and to his rear, chose the best of Israel’s picked men and drew them up in line facing the Aramaeans.

¹⁰ He entrusted the rest of the army to his brother Abishai, and drew them up in line facing the Ammonites.

¹¹ ‘If the Aramaeans prove too strong for me,’ he said ‘you must come to my help; if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I will go to yours.

¹² Take courage and stand firm for the sake of our people and the towns of our God. And may Yahweh do as he thinks right.’

¹³ Joab and the force with him joined battle with the Aramaeans, who fled before him.

¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that the Aramaeans had taken flight, they too fled before Abishai and withdrew into their town. Then Joab returned from the war with the Ammonites and came back to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Seeing that they had been defeated by Israel, the Aramaeans consolidated their forces.

¹⁶ Hadadezer sent messengers and mobilised the Aramaeans from beyond the river. They came to Helam with Shobach, commander of Hadadezer’s army, at their head.

¹⁷ Word of this was brought to David, who mustered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and reached Helam. The Aramaeans drew up in line facing David and engaged him.

¹⁸ But the Aramaeans gave ground before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their chariot teams and forty thousand men; he also struck down Shobach their general, who died then and there.

¹⁹ When all the vassal kings of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them. The Aramaeans were afraid to give any more help to the Ammonites.