2 Samuel 10

1 And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.

Some time later, the king of the Ammon people-group died, and his son Hanun became their king.

2 And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

David thought, “Nahash was kind to me, so I will be kind to his son.” So David sent some officials there, to tell Hanun that David was sorry that Hanun’s father [had died]. When those messengers arrived in the land where the Ammon people-group lived,

3 And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?

the leaders of the Ammon people-group said to Hanun, “Do you think that it is to honor your father that King David has sent these men to say that he is sorry that your father died [RHQ]? [We think that] he has sent them here to look around the city to determine how his [army] can conquer us!”

4 And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

Hanun [believed what they said; so he commanded some soldiers to] seize David’s officials and [insult them by] shaving off one side of each man’s beard, and [by] cutting off the lower part of their robes, [with the result that their buttocks could be seen], and then they sent them away.

5 And they told [it] to David; and he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Abide at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return.

The men were very humiliated/ashamed, [so they did not want to return home]. When David found out about what had happened to his officials, he sent someone to tell them, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown again, and then return home.”

6 And the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David; and the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-Rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah [with] a thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

Then [the leaders of] the Ammon people-group realized that they had greatly insulted [IDM] David [IDM]. So they sent some men to hire/pay some soldiers [from other nearby areas to help defend them]. They hired 20,000 soldiers from [the] Beth-Rehob and Zobah [regions northeast of Israel], and 12,000 soldiers from [the] Tob [region], and 1,000 soldiers from [the army of] the king of Maacah [region].

7 And David heard [of it], and he sent Joab, and all the host, the mighty men.

When David heard about that, he sent Joab with all of the army [that Joab commanded], to fight against them.

8 And the children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate; and the Syrians of Zoba and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

The soldiers of the Ammon people-group marched out and (stood in their positions/arranged themselves for battle) at the entrance [to their capital city, Rabbah]. The other soldiers from Syria and Tob and Maacah stood by themselves (in their positions/arranged themselves for battle) in the nearby fields.

9 And Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind; and he chose out of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians;

Joab saw that there were groups of enemy soldiers in front of his troops and behind his troops. So he chose some of the best Israeli soldiers, and put them in positions to fight against the soldiers of Syria.

10 and the rest of the people he gave into the hand of Abishai his brother that he might array them against the children of Ammon.

He appointed his [older] brother Abishai to be the commander of all the other soldiers, and he told them to (stand in their positions/arrange themselves) in front of [the army of] the Ammon people-group.

11 And he said, If the Syrians be too strong for me, then thou shalt help me; and if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come and help thee.

Then Joab said, “If the soldiers from Syria are too strong for us to defeat them, your men must come and help us. But if the soldiers from the Ammon people-group are too strong for you to defeat, we will come and help your men.

12 Be strong, and let us shew ourselves valiant for our people and for the cities of our God; and Jehovah do what is good in his sight.

We must be strong, and fight hard [IDM] to [defend] our people and the cities [(that belong to/where we worship)] our God. I will pray/request that Yahweh do what he considers to be good.”

13 And Joab drew near, and the people that were with him, unto the battle against the Syrians; and they fled before him.

So Joab and his army [advanced to] attack the army of Syria, and the soldiers from Syria ran away from them.

14 And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians fled, they fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. And Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

And when [the soldiers of] the Ammon people-group saw that the soldiers from Syria were running away, they also started to run away from Abishai and his army, and they retreated back inside the city. So Joab’s [army] stopped fighting against [the army of] the Ammon people-group, and Joab [and his army] returned to Jerusalem.

15 And when the Syrians saw that they were routed before Israel, they gathered themselves together.

After [the leaders of] the army of Syria saw that the Israeli army had defeated them, they gathered all their troops together.

16 And Hadarezer sent, and drew forth the Syrians that were beyond the river; and they came to Helam; and Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer [went] before them.

[Their king, ] Hadadezer, summoned the soldiers of Syria who lived on the east side of the [Euphrates] River. They gathered at Helam [city]. Their commander was Shobach.

17 And it was told David; and he gathered all Israel, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

When David heard about that, he gathered all the Israeli soldiers, and they crossed the Jordan [River] and marched to Helam. There, the army of Syria (took their positions/arranged themselves for battle), and the battle started.

18 And the Syrians fled before Israel; and David slew of the Syrians seven hundred [in] chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote Shobach the captain of their host, who died there.

But the soldiers of Syria ran away from the Israeli soldiers. David [and his army] killed 700 of their chariot-drivers and 40,000 other soldiers. They also wounded Shobach, their commander, and he died there.

19 And all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer saw that they were routed before Israel, and they made peace with Israel, and served them. And the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.

When all the kings who had been ruled by Hadadezer realized that they had been defeated by the Israeli [army], they made peace with the Israelis and agreed to accept David as their king. So [the army of] Syria was afraid to help [the army of] the Ammon people-group any more.