2 Samuel 10

¹ After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.

² David said, "I will show loyalty to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed loyalty to me." So David sent his servants to console him concerning his father. But when David's servants came to the land of the Ammonites,

³ the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending you comforters? Has David not sent his servants to you to explore the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it?"

⁴ So Hanun seized David's servants, shaved off half their beards, cut their garments in half at the buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵ When David was told, he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were deeply humiliated. The king said, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, then return."

⁶ When the Ammonites saw that they had made themselves odious to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah — twenty thousand foot soldiers — and the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob — twelve thousand men.

⁷ When David heard of it, he sent Joab with the entire army of warriors.

⁸ The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open field.

⁹ When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and behind, he chose some of the best troops of Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.

¹⁰ The rest of the forces he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, and he deployed them against the Ammonites.

¹¹ He said, "If the Arameans are too strong for me, you will come to my aid. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come to aid you.

¹² Be strong! Let us show strength for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in his eyes."

¹³ Joab and the forces with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.

¹⁴ When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵ When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.

¹⁶ Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the River. They came to Helam, with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer's army at their head.

¹⁷ When it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Arameans drew up their forces to meet David and fought against him.

¹⁸ The Arameans fled before Israel. David killed seven hundred chariot teams and forty thousand horsemen of the Arameans, and he struck Shobach their army commander, who died there.

¹⁹ When all the kings who were subjects of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. The Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.