2 Samuel 10:1-14

David and the Ammonites

10:1 Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him. ¹  10:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty ²  to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal ³  to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. ⁴  When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites, 10:3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? ⁵  No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!” ⁶ 

10:4 So Hanun seized David’s servants and shaved off half of each one’s beard. He cut the lower part of their robes off so that their buttocks were exposed, ⁷  and then sent them away. 10:5 Messengers ⁸  told David what had happened, ⁹  so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho ¹⁰  until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

10:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, ¹¹  they ¹²  sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, ¹³  in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob. ¹⁴ 

10:7 When David heard the news, he sent Joab and the entire army to meet them. ¹⁵  10:8 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

10:9 When Joab saw that the battle would be fought on two fronts, he chose some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans. ¹⁶  10:10 He put his brother Abishai in charge of the rest of the army ¹⁷  and they were deployed ¹⁸  against the Ammonites. 10:11 Joab ¹⁹  said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, ²⁰  you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, ²¹  I will come to your rescue. 10:12 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” ²² 

10:13 So Joab and his men ²³  marched out to do battle with the Arameans, and they fled before him. 10:14 When the Ammonites saw the Arameans flee, they fled before his brother Abishai and went into the city. Joab withdrew from fighting the Ammonites and returned to ²⁴  Jerusalem. ²⁵ 

[10:1]  ¹ tn Heb “reigned in his place.”

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “do loyalty.”

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “did loyalty.”

[10:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”

[10:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”

[10:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”

[10:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he cut their robes in the middle unto their buttocks.”

[10:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:5]  ⁹ tn The words “what had happened” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[10:5]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[10:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”

[10:6]  ¹² tn Heb “the Ammonites.”

[10:6]  ¹³ tn Or “Arameans of Beth Rehob and Arameans of Zobah.”

[10:6]  ¹⁴ tn Or perhaps “the men of Tob.” The ancient versions (the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) understand the name to be “Ish-tob.” It is possible that “Ish” is dittographic and that we should read simply “Tob,” a reading adopted by a number of recent English versions.

[10:7]  ¹⁵ tn The words “the news” and “to meet them” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[10:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and Joab saw that the face of the battle was to him before and behind and he chose from all the best in Israel and arranged to meet Aram.”

[10:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “people.”

[10:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he arranged.”

[10:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”

[10:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”

[10:12]  ²² tn Heb “and the Lord will do what is good in his eyes.”

[10:13]  ²³ tn Heb “and the army which was with him.”

[10:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and Joab returned from against the sons of Ammon and entered.”

[10:14]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.