1 Chronicles 19

¹ After this it happened that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place. ² David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him.

³ But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David honors your father, that he has sent comforters to you? Aren’t his servants come to you to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?” ⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ Then there went certain, and told David how the men were served. He sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

⁶ When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Aram Maacah, and out of Zobah. ⁷ So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and encamped before Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.

⁸ When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of the mighty men. ⁹ The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

¹⁰ Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians. ¹¹ The rest of the people he put under the hand of Abishai his brother, and they set themselves in array against the children of Ammon. ¹² He said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you. ¹³ Be courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God; and may Yahweh do that which seems good to him.”

¹⁴ So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Syrians to battle; and they fled before him. ¹⁵ When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ When the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head. ¹⁷ It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, crossed over the Jordan, and came to them, and set the battle in array against them. When David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him. ¹⁸ The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians seven thousand men who fought in chariots, and forty thousand footmen, and put to death Shophach the captain of the army.

¹⁹ When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David, and served him. So the Syrians would not help the children of Ammon any more.