1 And it was, after this, so a king died of sons of Ammon, and Hanun i his son reigned in his place. 2 And David said, “I will deal kindly with Hanun, son of Serpent, just as his father dealt kindly with me.” And David sent to comfort him through the hand of his servants concerning his father. And David's servants came into sons of Ammon's land. 3 And the rulers of sons of Ammon to Hanun, their lords, ii said, “Does David honor your father in your eyes, because he sent comforters? Is it not for the sake of searching out the city and to spy and to overturn her, David sent his servants to you?” 4 And Hanun took David's servants and shaved half their beard and cut off their garments at the halfway unto their buttocks and sent them away. 5 And they told David, and he sent to meet them, for the men were very humiliated. And the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beard grows back, then return.”
6 And sons of Ammon saw that they were repulsive to David, and sons of Ammon sent and hired Aram, house of Rechob, and Aram of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and king of Maachah, a thousand men, and Good Man, iii twelve thousand men. 7 And David heard and sent all the army of the mighty men. 8 And sons of Ammon went out and set in order for battle at the entrance of the gate, and Aram of Zobah, and Rechob, and Good Man, and Maachah by themselves in the field. 9 And Joab saw that the face of the battle was to him from front and from behind, and he choose from all Israel's chosen ones, and set in order to meet Aram. 10 And the rest of the people he put in Abishai, his brother's hand, and set in order to meet sons of Ammon.
11 And he said, “If Aram is stronger than I, so you will be for me for salvation. And if sons of Ammon are stronger than you, so I will come to save you. 12 Be strong and let us be strong for our people and for our Gods' cities. And may Yehvah do the good in his eyes.” 13 And Joab drew near, and the people who were with him, to the battle against Aram, and they fled from before him. 14 And sons of Ammon saw that Aram fled, so they fled from before Abishai, and they went in the city. And Joab returned from upon sons of Ammon and came into Jerusalem.
15 And Aram saw that he was stricken before Israel, and they gathered together. 16 And Hadadezer sent and brought Aram who was beyond the river, and they came to Helam. iv And Shobach, v ruler of Hadadezer's army, was in front of them. 17 And it was told to David, and he gathered all Israel, and crossed over the Jordan, and came to Halem. And Aram set in order to meet David, and they fought with him.
18 And Aram fled from before Israel, and David killed from Aram seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen. And Shobach, ruler of his army, he struck and killed there. 19 And all the kings, servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were stricken before Israel, and they made peace with Israel. And they served them. And Aram was afraid to save sons of Ammon again.
Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf.
- ן חוננו) chânun) “Hanun” (= favored) – found also in 2 Samuel 10:2-4; 1 Chronicles 19:2-4, 6; Nehemiah 3:13, 30. ^
- םם ננהייהֵדדֹא') adonêyhem) “their lords” - plural noun with plural pronominal suffix (their) w/singular subject. See footnote e.g. 1 Samuel 26:15. ^
- טוב יש אי') iysh tov) “Good Man”; NKJV, YLT “Ish-Tob” (a transliteration); KJV “Ishtob”; NAS, Green “ men of Tob” - there is also “Good Land” (NKJV “land of Tob”) in Judges 11:3, 5. ^
- חהיילונם) chêylâm) “Helam” - found also in 2 Samuel 10:17. ^
- ך שובך) shovakh) “Shobach” - found also in 2 Samuel 10:18. ^