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, ¹  and a container of wine.

But David’s soldiers had slaughtered the Benjaminites and Abner’s men – in all, 360 men had died!

David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds.

David seized from him 1,700 charioteers ¹  and 20,000 infantrymen. David cut the hamstrings of all but a hundred of the chariot horses. ² 

Joab reported the number of warriors ¹  to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

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. ¹ 

Then the king said to them, “I will do whatever seems best to you.” 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, ¹  had a spear ²  that weighed three hundred bronze shekels, ³  and he was armed with a new weapon. ⁴  He had said that he would kill David.

David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand: ¹  “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired ²  for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

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

When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ¹  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ²  according to the king’s weight.

All his servants were leaving with him, ¹  along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with ²  the king.

These are the names of David’s warriors: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. ¹  He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. ² 

Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ¹  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ² 

Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord 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?”