1 And it comes to pass afterward, that the king of the sons of Ammon dies, and his son Hanun reigns in his stead, 2 and David says, “I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did kindness with me”; and David sends to comfort him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and the servants of David come into the land of the sons of Ammon. 3 And the heads of the sons of Ammon say to their lord Hanun, “Is David honoring your father in your eyes because he has sent comforters to you? For has David not sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it, and to overthrow it?” 4 And Hanun takes the servants of David, and shaves off the half of their beard, and cuts off their long robes in the midst—to their buttocks, and sends them away; 5 and they declare [it] to David, and he sends to meet them, for the men have been greatly ashamed, and the king says, “Abide in Jericho until your beard springs up—then you have returned.” 6 And the sons of Ammon see that they have been abhorred by David, and the sons of Ammon send and hire Aram of Beth-Rehob, and Aram of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah [with] one thousand men, and Ish-Tob [with] twelve thousand men; 7 and David hears, and sends Joab, and all the host—the mighty men. 8 And the sons of Ammon come out, and set in array [for] battle, at the opening of the gate, and Aram of Zoba, and Rehob, and Ish-Tob, and Maacah, [are] by themselves in the field; 9 and Joab sees that the front of the battle has been to him before and behind, and he chooses [out] of all the chosen in Israel, and sets in array to meet Aram, 10 and he has given the rest of the people into the hand of his brother Abishai, and sets in array to meet the sons of Ammon. 11 And he says, “If Aram is stronger than I, then you have been for salvation to me, and if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you, then I have come to give salvation to you; 12 be strong and strengthen yourself for our people, and for the cities of our God, and YHWH does that which is good in His eyes.” 13 And Joab draws near, and the people who [are] with him, to battle against Aram, and they flee from his presence; 14 and the sons of Ammon have seen that Aram has fled, and they flee from the presence of Abishai, and go into the city; and Joab turns back from the sons of Ammon, and comes to Jerusalem. 15 And Aram sees that it is struck before Israel, and they are gathered together; 16 and Hadadezer sends, and brings out Aram which [is] beyond the River, and they come to Helam, and Shobach, head of the host of Hadadezer, [is] before them. 17 And it is declared to David, and he gathers all Israel, and passes over the Jordan, and comes to Helam, and Aram sets itself in array to meet David, and they fight with him; 18 and Aram flees from the presence of Israel, and David slays seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand horsemen of Aram, and he has struck Shobach, [the] head of its host, and he dies there. 19 And all the kings—servants of Hadadezer—see that they have been struck before Israel, and make peace with Israel, and serve them; and Aram is afraid to help the sons of Ammon anymore.
2 Samuel · Literal Standard Version
2 Samuel 10 Literal Standard Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abishai
Son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, who went down with David to Saul's sleeping camp, commanded a third of David's army, rescued David from Ishbi-benob, and won a name as chief of…
Cited in the guide: 1 Samuel 26:6; 2 Samuel 2:18; 2 Samuel 10:10
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Hadadezer
King of Zobah, son of Rehob, whom David defeated at the Euphrates and whose Aramean allies from Damascus and beyond the Euphrates were also beaten.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 8:3; 2 Samuel 8:5; 2 Samuel 10:16
Hanun
Son and successor of Nahash, who shaved half the beards of David's envoys and cut off their garments at the hips, provoking war with David.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 10:1; 2 Samuel 10:2; 2 Samuel 10:4
Shobach
Commander of Hadadezer's army, who led the Arameans from beyond the Euphrates to Helam and was struck down there by David.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 10:16; 2 Samuel 10:18; 1 Chronicles 19:16
Cross references (17)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Samuel 11:1–3; Judges 11:12–28; Judges 10:7–9; 1 Chronicles 19:1–19
- 2 1 Samuel 11:1; Deuteronomy 23:3–6; Nehemiah 13:1–3; Nehemiah 4:3–7; 1 Samuel 22:3–4
- 3 Genesis 42:9; Genesis 42:16; 1 Corinthians 13:7; 1 Corinthians 13:5
- 4 Isaiah 20:4; Jeremiah 41:5; 1 Chronicles 19:3–4; Isaiah 15:2; Psalm 109:4–5
- 5 1 Chronicles 19:5; Joshua 6:24–26; 1 Kings 16:34
- 6 2 Samuel 8:3; 2 Samuel 8:5; Genesis 34:30; Judges 11:3; Judges 18:28
- 7 2 Samuel 23:8–39; 1 Chronicles 19:8–19
- 8 2 Samuel 10:6; Joshua 19:28; Numbers 13:21; 1 Chronicles 19:7; Judges 1:31
- 9 Judges 20:42–43; Joshua 8:21–22
- 11 Galatians 6:2; Philippians 1:27–28; 1 Chronicles 19:9–12; Romans 15:1; Nehemiah 4:20
- 12 1 Corinthians 16:13; Deuteronomy 31:6; 1 Samuel 3:18; Nehemiah 4:14; Hebrews 13:6
- 13 1 Kings 20:13–21; 2 Chronicles 13:5–16; 1 Chronicles 19:14–15; 1 Kings 20:28–30
- 15 Revelation 19:19–21; Micah 4:11–12; Psalm 2:1; Zechariah 14:2–3; Isaiah 8:9–10
- 16 1 Chronicles 19:16; 2 Samuel 8:3–8; 1 Chronicles 18:3; 1 Chronicles 18:5
- 17 1 Chronicles 19:17
- 18 1 Chronicles 19:18; Psalm 18:38; 2 Samuel 8:4; Judges 5:26; Judges 4:2
- 19 2 Samuel 8:6; Revelation 18:10; Judges 1:7; Daniel 2:37; Psalm 18:37–38
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences