The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Chronicles 19
1 After this, 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, in that he has
sent comforters to you? Haven’t his servants come to you to search, 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 at their buttocks, and sent
them away.
5 Then some people went and told David
how the men were treated. He sentto meet
them; for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho until
your beards have grown, andthenreturn.”
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 chariots and horsemen out of
Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah.
7 So they hired for themselves thirty-two
thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah
with his people, who came and encamped
near Medeba. The children of Ammon
gathered themselves together from their
cities, and came to battle.
8 When David heard of it, he sent Joab
with all the army of the mighty men.
9 The children of Ammon came out, and
put the battle in array at the gate 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 some of all the choice men of Israel,
and put them in array against the Syrians.
11 The rest of the people he committed
into the hand of Abishai his brother; and
they put themselves in array against the
children of Ammon.
12 He said, “If the Syrians are too strong
for me, then you are to help me; but if the
children of Ammon are too strong for you,
then I will help you.
13 Be courageous, and let’s be strong for
our people and for the cities of our God.
May Yahweh do that which seems good to
him.”
14 So Joab and the people who were with
him came near to the front of the Syrians
to the battle; and they fled before him.
15 When the childrenof Ammonsaw 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
defeated by Israel, they sent messengers
and called out the Syrians who were beyond the River,‡ with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer leading
them.
17 David was told that, so he gathered
all Israel together, passed over the Jordan,
came to them, and set the battle in array
against them. So 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 Syrian men seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand
footmen, and also killed 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.
The Syrians would not help the children of
Ammon any more.