2 Samuel 10

All 19 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.
2. 2David said, "I'm going to show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father was kind to me." So David sent some of his officials to express sympathy to Hanun about his father's death. When David's men arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
3. 3the Ammonite leaders said to Hanun their lord, "Do you really think David is honoring your father by sending men to comfort you? He sent them to scout out the city, spy on it, and plan its overthrow!"
4. 4So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut their robes off at the waist so their buttocks were exposed, and sent them away.
5. 5When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to meet them, because the men were deeply humiliated. The king told them, "Stay in Jericho until your beards grow back, and then return."
6. 6When the Ammonites saw that they were despised by David, they sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob and Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers, and from King Maacah a thousand men, and from Ishtob twelve thousand men.
7. 7When David learned about this, he sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men.
8. 8The Ammonites came out and arranged their battle line at the entrance of the gate, while the Syrians of Zobah, Rehob, Ishtob, and Maacah positioned themselves separately in the field.
9. 9Joab saw that he was caught between two enemy forces — one in front and one behind. So he picked the best soldiers in Israel and lined them up to face the Syrians.
10. 10He placed the rest of the troops under the command of his brother Abishai and positioned them to face the Ammonites.
11. 11Joab told Abishai, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, come and help me. If the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll come and help you.
12. 12Be brave! Let's fight with everything we have for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what he sees as right."
13. 13Joab and the people with him advanced against the Syrians, and the Syrians fled before him.
14. 14When the Ammonites saw that the Syrians had fled, they also retreated from Abishai and pulled back inside the city. Joab then withdrew from the Ammonites and returned to Jerusalem.
15. 15After the Syrians realized they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped their forces.
16. 16Hadarezer sent for reinforcements — Syrian troops from beyond the Euphrates River. They assembled at Helam, with Shobach, the commander of Hadarezer's army, leading them.
17. 17When David received word of this, he assembled the entire Israelite army, crossed the Jordan River, and marched to Helam. The Syrians formed their battle lines against David and attacked.
18. 18But the Syrians fled before Israel. David killed the men of seven hundred Syrian chariots and forty thousand horsemen. He also struck down Shobach, the commander of their army, who died there.
19. 19When all the kings who served under Hadarezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Syrians were afraid to help the Ammonites ever again.