The Second of Samuel
10 Later the king of the Amʹmon·ites+ died, and his son Haʹnun became king in his place.+ 2 At that David said: “I will show loyal love toward Haʹnun the son of Naʹhash as his father showed loyal love toward me.” So David sent his servants to offer him comfort over the loss of his father. But when David’s servants came into the land of the Amʹmon·ites, 3 the princes of the Amʹmon·ites said to Haʹnun their lord: “Do you think that David is honoring your father by sending comforters to you? Is it not to search through the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it that David has sent his servants to you?” 4 So Haʹnun took the servants of David and shaved off half their beards+ and cut their garments in half at their buttocks and sent them away. 5 When David was told, he at once sent men to meet them, because the men had been deeply humiliated; and the king told them: “Stay in Jerʹi·cho+ until your beards grow back, and then return.”
6 In time the Amʹmon·ites saw that they had become a stench to David, so the Amʹmon·ites sent and hired Syrians of Beth-reʹhob+ and Syrians of Zoʹbah,+ 20,000 foot soldiers; and the king of Maʹa·cah,+ with 1,000 men; and from Ishʹtob,* 12,000 men.+ 7 When David heard about it, he sent Joʹab and the entire army, including his mightiest warriors.+ 8 And the Amʹmon·ites went out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance of the city gate while the Syrians of Zoʹbah and of Reʹhob, along with Ishʹtob* and Maʹa·cah, were by themselves in the open field.
9 When Joʹab saw that the battle charges were coming against him from the front and the rear, he chose some of the best troops in Israel and drew them up in battle formation to meet the Syrians.+ 10 He put the rest of the men under the command* of his brother A·bishʹai,+ in order to draw them up in battle formation to meet the Amʹmon·ites.+ 11 Then he said: “If the Syrians become too strong for me, then you must come to my rescue; but if the Amʹmon·ites become too strong for you, I will come to your rescue. 12 We must be strong and courageous+ for our people and for the cities of our God, and Jehovah will do what is good in his eyes.”+
13 Then Joʹab and his men advanced to meet the Syrians in battle, and they fled from before him.+ 14 When the Amʹmon·ites saw that the Syrians had fled, they fled from A·bishʹai and went into the city. After that Joʹab returned from the Amʹmon·ites and came to Jerusalem.
15 When the Syrians saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.+ 16 So Had·ad·eʹzer+ sent for the Syrians in the region of the River,*+ and then they came to Heʹlam, with Shoʹbach the chief of the army of Had·ad·eʹzer leading them.
17 When the report was made to David, he immediately gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan and came to Heʹlam. The Syrians then drew up in battle formation to meet David and fought against him.+ 18 But the Syrians fled from Israel; and David killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen of the Syrians, and he struck down Shoʹbach the chief of their army, who died there.+ 19 When all the kings, the servants of Had·ad·eʹzer, saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they promptly made peace with Israel and became their subjects;+ and the Syrians were afraid to help the Amʹmon·ites anymore.