1 In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king.
2 David thought: »I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.« So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. Davids men came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him.
3 The Ammonite nobles said to Hanun: »Do you think David honors your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Or have his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?«
4 Therefore Hanun seized Davids men, shaved them, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When David was told about the men he sent messengers to meet them, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said: »Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown and then come back.«
6 The Ammonites realized that they had become a stench in Davids nostrils. Then Hanun and the Ammonites sent seventy-five thousand pounds of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram Naharaim, Northwest Mesopotamia Aram Maacah and Zobah.
7 They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and charioteers, as well as the king of Maacah with his troops, who came and camped near Medeba, while the Ammonites were mustered from their towns and moved out for battle.
8 David heard about this and sent Joab out with the entire army of fighting men.
9 The Ammonites came out and drew up in battle formation at the entrance to their city, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the open country.
10 Joab saw that there were battle lines in front of him and behind him; so he selected some of the best troops in Israel and deployed them against the Arameans.
11 He put the rest of the men under the command of Abishai his brother, and they were deployed against the Ammonites.
12 Joab said: »If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you are to rescue me. But if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will rescue you.
13 »Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. Jehovah will do what is good in his sight.«
14 Then Joab and the troops with him advanced to fight the Arameans, and they fled before him.
15 When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were fleeing, they too fled before his brother Abishai and went inside the city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem.
16 The Arameans saw that they had been routed by Israel. So they sent messengers and had Arameans brought from beyond the Euphrates River, with Shophach the commander of Hadadezers army leading them.
17 David was told of this, so he gathered all Israel and crossed the Jordan. He advanced against them and formed his battle lines opposite them. David formed his lines to meet the Arameans in battle, and they fought against him.
18 But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers. He also killed Shophach the commander of their army.
19 When the vassals of Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and became subject to him. So the Arameans were not willing to help the Ammonites anymore.