2 Samuel 10, 1 Chronicles 19 - 20, 1 John 1 - 2, Proverbs 30

The Ammonites Dishonor David’s Men

10^aNow it happened afterwards, that ^bthe king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son became king in his place. ²So David said, “I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of ^aNahash, just as his father showed lovingkindness to me.” So David sent to comfort him concerning his father by the hand of his servants. And David’s servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon. ³But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? ^aHas David not sent his servants to you in order to search the city, to spy it out and overthrow it?” ⁴So Hanun took David’s servants and ^ashaved off half of their beards, and ^bcut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵Then they told it to David. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, “¹Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

⁶Then the sons of Ammon saw that ^athey had become odious to David. So the sons of Ammon sent and ^bhired the Arameans of ^cBeth-rehob and the ^dArameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of ^eMaacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men. ⁷Then David heard of it and sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁸And the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves for battle ^aat the entrance of the gate of the city. But the Arameans of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of ^bTob and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

David Defeats Ammon and Aram

⁹Then Joab saw that ¹the battle was set against him from the front and from the rear. So he chose from all the choice men of Israel, and they arranged themselves to meet the Arameans. ¹⁰But the remainder of the people he put in the hand of Abishai his brother; and he arranged them to meet the sons of Ammon. ¹¹And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall save me, but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come to save you. ¹²“^aBe strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and ^bmay Yahweh do what is good in His sight.” ¹³So Joab and the people who were with him drew near for the battle against the Arameans, and ^athey fled before him. ¹⁴Now the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled. So they also fled before Abishai and came into the city. ^aThen Joab returned from fighting against the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵Then the Arameans saw that they had been ¹defeated by Israel. So they gathered themselves together. ¹⁶^aAnd Hadadezer sent and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the ¹River, and they came to Helam; and ^bShobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ²led them. ¹⁷And it was told to David, so he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. And the Arameans arranged themselves to meet David and fought against him. ¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans ^a700 charioteers and 40,000 horsemen and struck down Shobach the commander of their army, and he died there. ¹⁹Then all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that they were ¹defeated by Israel. So ^athey made peace with Israel and served them. And the Arameans were afraid to save the sons of Ammon anymore.

The Ammonites Dishonor David’s Men

19^aNow it happened afterwards, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son became king in his place. ²So David said, “I will show lovingkindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed lovingkindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun to comfort him. ³But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, “In your eyes, is David honoring your father because he has sent comforters to you? Have not his servants come to you to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?” ⁴So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them and cut off their garments in the middle as far as their hips, and sent them away. ⁵Then certain persons went and told David about the men. And he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly dishonored. And the king said, “¹Stay at Jericho until your beards grow, and then return.”

⁶Then the sons of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David. So Hanun and the sons of Ammon sent ¹1,000 talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Mesopotamia, from Aram-maacah, and ^afrom Zobah. ⁷So they hired for themselves 32,000 chariots, and the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped before ^aMedeba. And the sons of Ammon gathered together from their cities and came to battle. ⁸Then David heard of it, and he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men. ⁹And the sons of Ammon came out and arranged themselves for battle at the entrance of the city. But the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

David Defeats Ammon and Aram

¹⁰Then Joab saw that the ¹battle was set against him in front and in the rear. So he chose from all the choice men of Israel and ²they arranged themselves to meet the Arameans. ¹¹But the remainder of the people he put in the hand of ¹Abshai his brother; and they arranged themselves to meet the sons of Ammon. ¹²And he said, “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then you shall save me; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will save you. ¹³“Be strong, and let us show strength for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may Yahweh do what is good in His sight.” ¹⁴So Joab and the people who were with him drew near before the Arameans for the battle, and they fled before him. ¹⁵Now the sons of Ammon saw that the Arameans fled. So they themselves also fled before Abshai his brother and came into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

¹⁶Then the Arameans saw that they had been ¹defeated by Israel. So they sent messengers and brought out the Arameans who were beyond the ²River, and Shophach the commander of the army of Hadadezer ³led them. ¹⁷And it was told to David, so he gathered all Israel together and crossed the Jordan, and came upon them and arranged for battle against them. So David arranged them in battle to meet the Arameans. And they fought against him. ¹⁸But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army. ¹⁹Then the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were ¹defeated by Israel. So they made peace with David and served him. And the Arameans were not willing to save the sons of Ammon anymore.

War with Philistine Giants

20^aNow it happened ¹in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the force of the military and brought the land of the sons of Ammon to ruin, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And ^bJoab struck Rabbah and ²tore it down. ²^aThen David took the crown of ¹their king from his head; and he found it to weigh a ²talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone; and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city in a very great amount. ³He also brought out the people who were in it ^aand ¹made them work with saws and with sharp iron instruments and with axes. And thus David used to do to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

⁴^aNow it happened afterwards, that war ¹broke out at ²Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, one among those born of the ³giants, and they were subdued. ⁵And there was war with the Philistines again, and Elhanan the son of ^aJair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the ^bshaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. ⁶Then there was war at Gath again, and there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also had been born to the giants. ⁷And he ¹reproached Israel, so Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, struck him down. ⁸These were born to the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Footnotes

19:51 Lit Return to
19:61 Approx. 38 tons or 34 metric tons, a talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
19:101 Lit the face of the battle
19:102 Lit he...himself
19:111 In 2 Sam 10:10, Abishai
19:161 Lit smitten before
19:162 The Euphrates River
19:163 Lit before
19:191 Lit smitten before
20:11 Lit at the time of the return of the year
20:12 Lit pulled
20:21 In Zeph 1:5, Malcam
20:22 A talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
20:31 Or made them cut with saws, cut them with saws; Heb vowels can indicate causative or simple active
20:41 Lit stood up
20:42 In 2 Sam 21:18, Gob
20:43 Heb Raphah, so in vv 6, 8
20:71 Or defied

Cross references

The Word of Life

1What was ^afrom the beginning, what we have ^bheard, what we have ^cseen with our eyes, what we ^dbeheld and ^etouched with our hands, concerning the ^fWord of Life— ²and ^athe life was manifested, and we have ^bseen and ^cbear witness and proclaim to you ^dthe eternal life, which was ^ewith the Father and was ^fmanifested to us— ³what we have ^aseen and ^bheard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our ^cfellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴^aAnd these things we are writing, so that our ^bjoy may be made complete.

God Is Light

⁵^aAnd this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that ^bGod is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶^aIf we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we ^blie and ^cdo not do the truth; ⁷but if we ^awalk in the Light as ^bHe Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and ^cthe blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸^aIf we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the ^btruth is not in us. ⁹^aIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and ^bto cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰^aIf we say that we have not sinned, we ^bmake Him a liar and ^cHis word is not in us.

Jesus Christ Our Advocate

2^aMy little children, I am ^bwriting these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^cwe have an ¹^,^dAdvocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ²and He Himself is ^athe ¹propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also ^bfor those of the whole world.

³^aAnd by this we know that we have come to ^bknow Him, if we ^ckeep His commandments. ⁴The one who says, “^aI have come to ^bknow Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^cliar, and ^dthe truth is not in him; ⁵but whoever ^akeeps His word, truly in him the ^blove of God has been perfected. ^cBy this we know that we are in Him: ⁶the one who says he ^aabides in Him ^bought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

⁷^aBeloved, I am ^bnot writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^cfrom the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ⁸¹On the other hand, I am writing ^aa new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^bthe darkness is passing away and ^cthe true Light is already shining. ⁹The one who says he is in the Light and yet ^ahates his ^bbrother is in the darkness until now. ¹⁰^aThe one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. ¹¹But the one who ^ahates his brother is in the darkness and ^bwalks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness ^cblinded his eyes.

¹²I am writing to you, ^alittle children, because ^byour sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. ¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Him ^awho has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^byou have overcome ^cthe evil one. I have written to you, children, because ¹^,^dyou have known the Father. ¹⁴I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him ^awho has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^bstrong, and the ^cword of God abides in you, and ^dyou have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵Do not love ^athe world nor the things in the world. ^bIf anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world, ^athe lust of the flesh and ^bthe lust of the eyes and ^cthe boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ¹⁷^aAnd the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who ^bdoes the will of God abides forever.

¹⁸Children, ^ait is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^bantichrist is coming, ^ceven now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹^aThey went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they were of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^bso that ¹it would be manifested that they all are not of us. ²⁰¹But you have an ^aanointing from ^bthe Holy One, and ^cyou all know. ²¹I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^abecause you do know it, and ¹because no lie is ^bof the truth. ²²Who is the liar but ^athe one who denies that Jesus is the ¹Christ? This is ^bthe ²antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³^aEveryone who denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴As for you, let that which you heard ^afrom the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also ^bwill abide in the Son and in the Father. ²⁵^aAnd this is the promise which He Himself ¹made to us: eternal life.

²⁶These things I have written to you about those who are trying to ^adeceive you. ²⁷And as for you, the ^aanointing whom you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as His anointing ^bteaches you about all things, and is ^ctrue and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, ¹abide in Him.

²⁸And now, ^alittle children, abide in Him, so that when He ^bis manifested, we may have ^cconfidence and ^dnot ¹shrink away from Him in shame ²at His ^ecoming. ²⁹If you know that ^aHe is righteous, you know that everyone also who does righteousness ^bhas been ¹born of Him.

Every Word of God Is Tested

30The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the ¹oracle. The man declares to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal:

²Surely I am more ^asenseless than any man,And I do not have the understanding of mankind.³Neither have I learned wisdom,Nor do I know the ^aknowledge of the Holy One.⁴Who has ^aascended into heaven and descended?Who has gathered the ^bwind in His fists?Who has ^cwrapped the waters in ¹His garment?Who has ²^,^destablished all the ends of the earth?What is His ^ename? And what is His ^fSon’s name?Surely you know!⁵Every ^aword of God is ¹tested;He is a ^bshield to those who take refuge in Him.⁶^aDo not add to His wordsLest He reprove you, and you be proved a liar.⁷Two things I asked of You,Do not withhold from me before I die:⁸Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me,Give me neither poverty nor riches;Feed me with the ^afood that is my portion,⁹Lest I be ^afull and deny ^bYou and say, “Who is Yahweh?”Or lest I be ^cimpoverished and steal,And ¹^,^dprofane the name of my God.¹⁰Do not slander a slave to his master,Lest he ^acurse you and you be found guilty.¹¹There is a generation that ^acurses its fatherAnd does not bless its mother.¹²There is a generation that is ^aclean in its own eyes,Yet is not washed from its filthiness.¹³There is a generation—oh how ^ahaughty are its eyes!And its eyelids are lifted up.¹⁴There is a generation whose ^ateeth are like swordsAnd its ^bfangs like knives,To ^cdevour the afflicted from the earthAnd the needy from among men.¹⁵The leech has two daughters,“Give,” “Give.”There are three things that will not be satisfied,Four that will not say, “Enough”:¹⁶^aSheol, and the ^bbarren womb,Earth that is never satisfied with water,And fire that never says, “Enough.”¹⁷The eye that ^amocks a fatherAnd ^bdespises obedience to a mother,The ^cravens of the valley will pick it out,And the young ^deagles will eat it.¹⁸There are three things which are too wonderful for me,Four which I do not understand:¹⁹The way of an ^aeagle in the sky,The way of a serpent on a rock,The way of a ship in the heart of the sea,And the way of a man with a virgin.²⁰This is the way of an ^aadulterous woman:She eats and wipes her mouth,And says, “I have done no wrong.”²¹Under three things the earth quakes,And under four, it cannot bear up:²²Under a ^aslave when he becomes king,And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food,²³Under ¹an unloved woman when she gets a husband,And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.²⁴Four things are small on the earth,But they are exceedingly wise:²⁵The ^aants are not a strong people,But they prepare their food in the summer;²⁶The ¹^,^ashephanim are not a mighty people,Yet they make their houses in the cliff;²⁷The locusts have no king,Yet all of them go out in ^arank;²⁸The lizard you may grasp with the hands,Yet it is in kings’ palaces.²⁹There are three things which are stately in their march,Even four which are stately when they walk:³⁰The lion which is ^amighty among the animalsAnd does not ^bturn back before any,³¹The ¹strutting rooster, the male goat also,And a king when his army is with him.³²If you have been wickedly foolish in lifting yourself up,Or if you have schemed evil, ^aput your hand on your mouth.³³For pressing milk brings forth butter,And pressing the nose brings forth blood;And pressing ^aanger brings forth strife.