The text

1 Chronicles 19

1 Chronicles 19:1WEB

After this, Nahash the king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his place.

1 Chronicles 19:2WEB

David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun to comfort him.

1 Chronicles 19:3WEB

But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Haven’t his servants come to you to search, to overthrow, and to spy out the land?”

1 Chronicles 19:4WEB

So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away.

1 Chronicles 19:5WEB

Then some people went and told David how the men were treated. He sent to meet them; for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, “Stay at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

1 Chronicles 19:6WEB

When the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent one thousand talents of silver to hire chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, out of Aram-maacah, and out of Zobah.

1 Chronicles 19:7WEB

So they hired for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots, and the king of Maacah with his people, who came and encamped near Medeba. The children of Ammon gathered themselves together from their cities, and came to battle.

1 Chronicles 19:8WEB

When David heard of it, he sent Joab with all the army of the mighty men.

1 Chronicles 19:9WEB

The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the gate of the city; and the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.

1 Chronicles 19:10WEB

Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose some of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians.

1 Chronicles 19:11WEB

The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and they put themselves in array against the children of Ammon.

1 Chronicles 19:12WEB

He said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you are to help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will help you.

1 Chronicles 19:13WEB

Be courageous, and let’s be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May Yahweh do that which seems good to him.”

“Yahweh” is the divine name in this translation. Many Bibles say “the LORD.”

1 Chronicles 19:14WEB

So Joab and the people who were with him came near to the front of the Syrians to the battle; and they fled before him.

1 Chronicles 19:15WEB

When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai his brother, and entered into the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

1 Chronicles 19:16WEB

When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they sent messengers and called out the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the army of Hadadezer leading them.

1 Chronicles 19:17WEB

David was told that, so he gathered all Israel together, passed over the Jordan, came to them, and set the battle in array against them. So when David had put the battle in array against the Syrians, they fought with him.

1 Chronicles 19:18WEB

The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrian men seven thousand charioteers and forty thousand footmen, and also killed Shophach the captain of the army.

1 Chronicles 19:19WEB

When the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. The Syrians would not help the children of Ammon any more.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.