1 Chronicles
19
- In the course of time, Nahash king of the
Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king.
- David thought, "I will show kindness
to Hanun son of Nahash, because 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 Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy
to him,
- the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, "Do
you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy?
Haven't his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow
it ?"
- So Hanun seized David's men, shaved them,
cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.
- When someone came and told David about the
men, he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The
king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come
back."
- When the Ammonites realized that they had
become a stench in David's nostrils, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand
talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Aram
Maacah and Zobah.
- They hired thirty-two thousand chariots
and charioteers, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and
camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and
moved out for battle.
- On hearing this, David sent Joab out with
the entire army of fighting men.
- The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle
formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were
by themselves in the open country.
- 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.
- He put the rest of the men under the command
of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites.
- Joab said, "If the Arameans are too
strong for me, then you are to rescue me; but if the Ammonites are too strong
for you, then I will rescue you.
- 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."
- Then Joab and the troops with him advanced
to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.
- When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans
were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the
city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
- After the Arameans saw that they had been
routed by Israel, they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond
the River, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezer's army leading them.
- When David was told of this, he gathered
all Israel and crossed the Jordan; he advanced against them and formed his
battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in
battle, and they fought against him.
- But they fled before Israel, and David killed
seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.
He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.
- When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they
had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject
to him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.
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