2 Samuel 10:1-19
David Defeats the Ammonites
1 In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.
When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, 3 the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?” 4 So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back.”
6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become obnoxious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and also twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 On hearing this, David sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men. 8 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of their city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves in the open country.
9 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans. 10 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother and deployed them against the Ammonites. 11 Joab said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to come to my rescue; but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you. 12 Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. The Lord will do what is good in his sight.”
13 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him. 14 When the Ammonites realized that the Arameans were fleeing, they fled before Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
15 After the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, they regrouped. 16 Hadadezer had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River; they went to Helam, with Shobak the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
17 When David was told of this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan and went to Helam. The Arameans formed their battle lines to meet David and fought against him. 18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobak the commander of their army, and he died there. 19 When all the kings who were vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, they made peace with the Israelites and became subject to them.
So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
Later King Nahash of the Ammonites died....His son Hanun became the new king after him...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...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.”...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...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.”...
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 Maakah with 1000 men and 12,000 men from Tob...David heard about this, so he sent Joab and the whole army of powerful men...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 Maakah did not stand together with the Ammonites in the field...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...Then Joab gave the other men to his brother Abishai to lead against the Ammonites...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...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.”...Then Joab and his men attacked the Arameans...The Arameans ran away from Joab and his men...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...
When the Arameans saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they came together into one big army...Hadadezer sent messengers to bring the Arameans who lived on the other side of the Euphrates River...These Arameans came to Helam...Their leader was Shobak, the captain of Hadadezer’s army...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, but David defeated them, and they ran from the Israelites...David killed 700 chariot drivers and 40,000 horse soldiers as well as Shobak, the captain of the Aramean army...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...