The Defeat of the Ammonites and Syrians

10¹ And it cometh to pass afterwards, that the king of the Bene-Ammon dieth, and Hanun his son reigneth in his stead, ² and David saith, 'I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come in to the land of the Bene-Ammon. ³ And the heads of the Bene-Ammon say unto Hanun their lord, 'Is David honouring thy father in thine eyes because he hath sent to thee comforters? for to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it, hath not David sent his servants unto thee?' ⁴ And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth off the half of their beard, and cutteth off their long robes in the midst—unto their buttocks, and sendeth them away; ⁵ and they declare 'it' to David, and he sendeth to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king saith, 'Abide in Jericho till your beard doth spring up—then ye have returned.'

⁶ And the Bene-Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the Bene-Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah 'with' a thousand men, and Ish-Tob 'with' twelve thousand men; ⁷ and David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host—the mighty men. ⁸ And the Bene-Ammon come out, and set battle in array, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, 'are' by themselves in the field; ⁹ and Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him before and behind, and he chooseth of all the chosen in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram, ¹⁰ and the rest of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and setteth in array to meet the Bene-Ammon. ¹¹ And he saith, 'If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation, and if the Bene-Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have come to give salvation to thee; ¹² be strong and strengthen thyself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.' ¹³ And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who 'are' with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence; ¹⁴ and the Bene-Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go in to the city; and Joab turneth back from the Bene-Ammon, and cometh in to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ And Aram seeth that it is smitten before Israel, and they are gathered together; ¹⁶ and Hadadezer sendeth, and bringeth out Aram which 'is' beyond the River, and they come in to Helam, and Shobach head of the host of Hadadezer 'is' before them. ¹⁷ And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in to Helam, and Aram setteth itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him; ¹⁸ and Aram fleeth from the presence of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and Shobach head of its host he hath smitten, and he dieth there. ¹⁹ And all the kings—servants of Hadadezer—see that they have been smitten before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help any more the Bene-Ammon.

The Defeat of the Ammonites and Syrians

19¹ And it cometh to pass after this, that Nahash king of the sons of Ammon dieth, and his son reigneth in his stead, ² and David saith, 'I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, for his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And the servants of David come in unto the land of the sons of Ammon, unto Hanun, to comfort him, ³ and the heads of the sons of Ammon say to Hanun, 'Is David honouring thy father, in thine eyes, because he hath sent to thee comforters? in order to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out, the land, have not his servants come in unto thee?' ⁴ And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth them, and cutteth their long robes in the midst, unto the buttocks, and sendeth them away. ⁵ And 'some' go, and declare to David concerning the men, and he sendeth to meet them—for the men have been greatly ashamed—and the king saith, 'Dwell in Jericho till that your beard is grown, then ye have returned.'

⁶ And the sons of Ammon see that they have made themselves abhorred by David, and Hanun and the sons of Ammon send a thousand talents of silver, to hire to them, from Aram-Naharaim, and from Aram-Maachah, and from Zobah, chariots and horsemen; ⁷ and they hire to them two and thirty thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people, and they come in and encamp before Medeba, and the sons of Ammon have been gathered out of their cities, and come in to the battle. ⁸ And David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host of the mighty men, ⁹ and the sons of Ammon come out and set battle in array at the opening of the city, and the kings who have come 'are' by themselves in the field. ¹⁰ And Joab seeth that the front of the battle hath been unto him, before and behind, and he chooseth out of all the choice in Israel, and setteth in array to meet Aram, ¹¹ and the remnant of the people he hath given into the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set in array to meet the sons of Ammon. ¹² And he saith, 'If Aram be stronger than I, then thou hast been to me for salvation; and if the sons of Ammon be stronger than thou, then I have saved thee; ¹³ be strong, and we strengthen ourselves, for our people, and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah doth that which is good in His eyes.' ¹⁴ And Joab draweth nigh, and the people who 'are' with him, before Aram to battle, and they flee from his face; ¹⁵ and the sons of Ammon have seen that Aram hath fled, and they flee—they also—from the face of Abishai his brother, and go in to the city. And Joab cometh in to Jerusalem. ¹⁶ And Aram seeth that they have been smitten before Israel, and send messengers, and bring out Aram that 'is' beyond the River, and Shophach head of the host of Hadarezer 'is' before them. ¹⁷ And it is declared to David, and he gathereth all Israel, and passeth over the Jordan, and cometh in unto them, and setteth in array against them; yea, David setteth in array the battle to meet Aram, and they fight with him; ¹⁸ and Aram fleeth from the face of Israel, and David slayeth of Aram seven thousand charioteers, and forty thousand footmen, and Shophach head of the host he hath put to death. ¹⁹ And the servants of Hadarezer see that they have been smitten before Israel, and they make peace with David and serve him, and Aram hath not been willing to help the sons of Ammon any more.

A Prayer for Victory

20¹ Jehovah doth answer thee, In a day of adversity, The name of the God of Jacob doth set thee on high, ² He doth send thy help from the sanctuary, And from Zion doth support thee, ³ He doth remember all thy presents, And thy burnt-offering doth reduce to ashes. Selah. ⁴ He doth give to thee according to thy heart, And all thy counsel doth fulfil. ⁵ We sing of thy salvation, And in the name of our God set up a banner. Jehovah doth fulfil all thy requests.

⁶ Now I have known That Jehovah hath saved His anointed, He answereth him from His holy heavens, With the saving might of His right hand. ⁷ Some of chariots, and some of horses, And we of the name of Jehovah our God Make mention. ⁸ They—they have bowed and have fallen, And we have risen and station ourselves upright. ⁹ O Jehovah, save the king, He doth answer us in the day we call!