<t /><p class="bodytext">When David had gone a short way beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a couple of donkeys that were saddled, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred raisin cakes, a hundred baskets of summer fruit,<n id="1" /> and a container of wine.p>

But David&#8217;s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner&#8217;s men &#8211; in all, 360 men had died!

<t /><p class="bodytext">David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds.

David seized from him 1,700 charioteers<n id="1" /> and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Joab reported the number of warriors<n id="1" /> to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.p>

Now two hundred men had gone with Absalom from Jerusalem. Since they were invited, they went naively and were unaware of what Absalom was planning.<n id="1" />

Then the king said to them, &#8220;I will do whatever seems best to you.&#8221;p> <p class="bodytext">So the king stayed beside the city gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

Now Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha,<n id="1" /> had a spear<n id="2" /> that weighed three hundred bronze shekels,<n id="3" /> and he was armed with a new weapon.<n id="4" /> He had said that he would kill David.

<p class="bodytext">David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand:<n id="1" /> &#8220;Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired<n id="2" /> for a hundred Philistine foreskins.&#8221;

The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed 700 Aramean charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers.<n id="1" /> He also struck down Shobach, the general in command of the army, who died there.

When he would shave his head &#8211; at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long<n id="1" /> and he would shave it &#8211; he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds<n id="2" /> according to the king&#8217;s weight.

All his servants were leaving with him,<n id="1" /> along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites &#8211; some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with<n id="2" /> the king.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">These are the names of David&#8217;s warriors:p> <p class="bodytext">Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers.<n id="1" /> He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three.<n id="1" /> He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">Joab replied to the king, &#8220;May the <sc>Lordsc> your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?&#8221;p>