2 Samuel 10

1 Some time [after this, afterwards] later, the king [ruler, monarch] of the Ammonites [sons of Ammon, a nation] died [passed away, came to an end] and was succeeded [reigned in his place, took his position] by his son [descendant, offspring] Hanun [gracious, a king’s name]. word study 2 And David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] said, “I will show [demonstrate, extend] kindness [loving loyalty] to Hanun [gracious] son of Nahash, just as [in the same manner] his father [Nahash, a non-Israelite king] showed [exhibited, demonstrated] kindness [chesed, mercy] to me.” So David sent [dispatched, commissioned] some of his servants [slave, attendant] to console [comfort, bring solace] Hanun concerning [regarding, on account of] his father. But when they arrived [came, entered] in the land [territory, region] of the Ammonites [sons of Ammon, a nation], word study 3 the princes [rulers, leaders] of the Ammonites said to Hanun [gracious, their king] their lord [master, ruler], “Just because David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] has sent you comforters [to show sympathy, to console], do you really believe he is showing respect [honor, to make weighty] for your father [ancestor, patriarch]? Has not David instead sent his servants [attendants, messengers] to explore [search, examine] the city [town, metropolis], spy it out [to gather information, to scout], and overthrow [to turn upside down, to conquer] it?” word study 4 So Hanun [the Ammonite king] took David’s servants [representatives, ambassadors], shaved off [cut away, laid waste] half [the middle part] of each man’s beard, cut off [destroyed, severed] their garments [clothing, robes] at the hips [the middle, the buttocks], and sent them away [dismissed, deported]. word study 5 When this was reported [told, declared] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], he sent [dispatched, commissioned] messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly [greatly, exceedingly] humiliated [ashamed, insulted, put to confusion]. The king [the royal ruler, monarch] told them, “Stay [dwell, abide, remain] in Jericho [a city in Palestine, the first conquered by the Israelites] until your beards [wisdom, and dignity] have grown back [sprouted, regrown], and then return [come back, turn back].” word study 6 When the Ammonites [sons of Lot, a neighboring nation] realized that they had become a stench [morally offensive, detestable] to David, they hired [employed, enlisted] twenty thousand Aramean [Syrian, from Aram] foot soldiers [infantry, ground troops] from Beth-rehob [house of the street, a city in Syria] and Zoba [a region in Syria], as well as a thousand men [warriors, fighters] from the king of Maacah [a kingdom in Syria, meaning ‘oppression’] and twelve thousand men [a large army, a multitude] from Tob [a region east of the Jordan River]. word study 7 On hearing [to hear and listen, with attention and obedience] this, David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] sent [to dispatch, to commission] Joab [Jehovah is father, a prominent Israelite] and the entire [all, everything] army [a large group of people, a campaign] of mighty men [strong or valiant warriors, champions]. word study 8 The Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] marched out and arrayed [put the battle in array, set up their battle lines] themselves for battle [war, conflict] at the entrance [gate, doorway] of the city gate [the gate of the town], while the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] of Zobah [a region in Syria] and Rehob [a place in Syria] and the men [individuals, people] of Tob [a region east of the Jordan River] and Maacah [a place of oppression] were by themselves [alone, apart] in the open country [field, land, flat area]. word study 9 When Joab [the commander, Jehovah is father] saw the battle lines [front of the battle, war] before him and behind him [at his back, rear side], he selected [chose, picked out] some of the best men [choice men, elite troops] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, God’s people] and arrayed [put in array, set in order] them against the Arameans [the people of Aram, Syrians]. word study 10 And he placed the rest [remainder, what was left] of the forces under the command of his brother [male sibling, close relative] Abishai, who arrayed [set in order, arranged] them against the Ammonites [sons of Ammon, a nation]. word study 11 “If the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] are too strong [powerful, victorious] for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue [help, salvation]. And if the Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] are too strong [to strengthen, conquer] for you, then I will come [go, walk] to your rescue [help, to save]. word study 12 Be strong [and courageous, play the men] and let us fight bravely [with valor, for our people’s sake] for our people [the nation, our kin] and for the cities [towns, settlements] of our God [Elohim, the supreme God]. May the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] do what is good [pleasant, beneficial] in His sight [before His eyes, according to His will].” word study 13 So Joab [King David’s nephew and army general] and his troops [the people with him] advanced [drew near, to approach] to fight [engage in battle, go to war] the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram], who [which] fled [ran away, to flee] before [from the presence of, in the face of] him. word study 14 When the Ammonites [sons of Lot, a neighboring nation] saw that the Arameans [Syrians, a powerful people group] had fled [run away in fear], they too fled [in panic, retreated] before Abishai [my father is Jesse, a skilled warrior], and they entered [went into, took refuge in] the city [a fortified town, a place of safety]. So Joab [Jehovah is father, a prominent leader] returned [turned back, came back] from fighting against the Ammonites [the people of Ammon, a rebellious nation] and came to Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Israel]. word study 15 When the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] saw [perceived, understood] that they had been defeated [smitten, put to the worse] by Israel [God’s chosen people], they regrouped [gathered themselves together, assembled]. word study 16 Hadadezer [the Syrian king, Hadad is help] sent messengers to bring more Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] from beyond [across, on the other side of] the Euphrates [the river], and they came to Helam [a stronghold, a place of strength] with Shobach [a Syrian general, commander] the commander [ruler, captain] of Hadadezer’s army [a large group, a campaign] leading them [at their head, before them]. word study 17 When this was reported [told, declared] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], he gathered [assembled, brought together] all [every, the whole] Israel, crossed [passed over, transitioned] the Jordan [the river running from Lebanon to the Dead Sea], and went [came, approached] to Helam [a stronghold, a place of refuge]. Then the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] arrayed [set in order, arranged] themselves against David [in opposition, as enemies] and fought [engaged in battle, struggled] against him [with, in opposition to]. word study 18 But the Arameans [Aram, the Syrian nation] fled [ran away quickly, escaped] before Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people], and David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] killed [slew, put to death] seven hundred [a large number, 700] charioteers [men who drove chariots, cavalry soldiers] and forty thousand [a multitude, 40,000] foot soldiers [infantry, ground troops]. He also struck down [smote, defeated] Shobach [a Syrian general] the commander [ruler, captain] of their army [a large group of soldiers, a military force], who died [passed away, met his end] there [in that place, at that time]. word study 19 When all [every one of] the kings who were [serving as] subject to Hadadezer [the Syrian king] saw that they had been defeated [struck down, smitten] by Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants], they made peace [to be at peace, to complete] with Israel [the descendants of Jacob] and became subject [served, worked for] to them. So the Arameans [the people of Aram, or Syria] were afraid [feared, reverenced] to help [to save, to deliver] the Ammonites [the descendants of Ammon, a son of Lot] anymore [still, again]. word study