CHAPTER 19

¹And it happened thereafter that Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son was king in his stead. ²And David said, “Let me keep faith with Hanun son of Nahash as his father kept faith with me.” And David sent his servants to console him for his father, and David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites to Hanun, to console him. ³And the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, “Do you imagine David is honoring your father in sending you consolers? Is it not in order to search out and to overthrow and to spy upon the land that his servants have come to you?” ⁴And Hanun took David’s servants and shaved their beards and cut their diplomat’s garb in half down to the crotch, and sent them off. ⁵And people went and told David about the men, and he sent to meet them, for the men were humiliated, and the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back and you can return.” ⁶And the Ammonites saw that they had become repugnant to David, and Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand silver talents to hire for themselves from Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Maacah and from Zobah chariots and horsemen. ⁷And they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah and his troops, and they came and camped in front of Medeba, and the Ammonites gathered from their towns and came for battle. ⁸And David heard and sent out the whole army of warriors. ⁹And the Ammonites sallied forth and drew up for battle at the entrance of the city, and the kings who had come were apart in the field. ¹⁰And Joab saw that there was a battle line against him in front and behind, and he chose from all the picked men in Israel and drew them up to meet the Arameans. ¹¹And the rest of the troops he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother, and they drew up to meet the Ammonites. ¹²And he said, “If the Arameans prove too strong for me, you will rescue me, and if the Ammonites prove too strong for you, I shall rescue you. ¹³Be strong, and let us find strength for the sake of our people and for the sake of the towns of our God, and the LORD will do what is good in His eyes!” ¹⁴And Joab advanced, and the troops that were with him, to face Aram in battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵And the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, and they too fled before Abishai his brother and entered the city. And Joab came to Jerusalem. ¹⁶And the Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel, and they brought out the Arameans who were beyond the Euphrates with Shophach Hadadezer’s army commander at their head. ¹⁷And it was told to David, and he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan and came up to them and drew up his lines against them. And David drew up his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they did battle with him. ¹⁸And the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers, and Shobah, the commander of the army, he put to death. ¹⁹And Hadadezer’s servants saw that they had been routed by Israel, and they made peace with David and became his vassals, and the Arameans no longer desired to rescue the Ammonites.