2 Samuel 10:1-12

Ammon and Aram Defeated

¹Now it happened afterward that the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place. ²Then David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console him about his father. But when David’s servants came to the land of the Ammonites, ³the commanders of the Ammonites said to their lord Hanun, “Do you think that David is simply honoring your father since he has sent you servants to console you? Has David not sent his servants to you in order to explore the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half of their beards, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵When messengers informed David, he sent servants to meet them, because the men were extremely humiliated. And the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then you shall return.”

⁶Now when the sons of Ammon saw that they had become repulsive to David, the sons of Ammon sent messengers 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 with twelve thousand men. ⁷When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all the army, the warriors. ⁸And the sons of Ammon came out and lined up for battle at the entrance of the city, while the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were stationed by themselves in the field.

⁹Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him at the front and at the rear, he selected warriors from all the choice men in Israel, and lined them up against the Arameans. ¹⁰But the remainder of the people he placed under the command of his brother Abishai, and he lined them up against the sons of Ammon. ¹¹And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to help you. ¹²Be strong, and let’s show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and the cities of our God; and may the Lord do what is good in His sight.”