1 Chronicles 19

1 Some time [after this, later on] later, Nahash [the king of the Ammonites, a non-Israelite ruler] king of the Ammonites [a son of Lot and his descendants] died [passed away, came to an end] and was succeeded [reigned in his place, took his throne] by his son [a descendant, heir]. word study 2 And David said, “I will show [extend, demonstrate] kindness [loving-kindness, mercy] to Hanun [the gracious one] son of Nahash, because his father showed [exhibited, displayed] kindness [loyal love, faithfulness] to me.” So David sent [dispatched, commissioned] messengers [ambassadors, representatives] to console [comfort, bring solace to] Hanun concerning [regarding, on account of] his father. But when David’s servants [attendants, officials] arrived in the land [territory, region] of the Ammonites [the people of Ammon] to console [offer condolences, sympathize with] him, word study 3 the princes [rulers, leaders] of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Just because David [the king of Israel, a descendant of Jesse] has sent you comforters [to show sympathy, to mourn with you], do you really believe he is showing respect [honor, deference] for your father? Have not his servants [attendants, slaves] come to you to explore [search, examine] the land, spy [investigate, scout] it out, and overthrow [conquer, subdue] it?” word study 4 So Hanun [the Ammonite king] took David’s servants [or slaves, attendants], shaved [cut off their hair, laid them bare] their beards, cut off their garments [or robes, clothing] at the hips [or buttocks, the lower part of the body], and sent them away [dismissed them, let them go]. word study 5 When someone came and told [informed, declared to] David [the king of Israel, a man after God’s heart] about his men, he sent [dispatched, commissioned] messengers to meet them, since the men had been thoroughly [completely, utterly] humiliated [ashamed, disgraced]. The king told them, “Stay [dwell, remain] in Jericho [a city of refuge, a place of protection] until your beards have grown back [sprouted, regenerated], and then return [come back, turn again].” word study 6 When the Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] realized that they had become [morally offensive] a stench to David, Hanun [the Ammonite king] and the Ammonites sent a thousand [large number, multitude] talents of silver [wealth, payment] to hire [employ, enlist] for themselves chariots [vehicles, cavalry] and horsemen [cavalry soldiers, warriors] from Aram-naharaim [Mesopotamia, the land between the rivers], Aram-maacah [Syria, the region], and Zobah [a separate kingdom, a region in Syria]. word study 7 So they hired [as mercenaries] for themselves thirty-two thousand chariots [war-carriages, vehicles for battle], as well as the king of Maacah [a region in Syria, a place of oppression] with his troops [people, army], who came and camped [pitched their tents, set up their base] near Medeba [a town in Moab, a place of water and rest] while the Ammonites [the sons of Ammon, a nation] came from their cities [towns, settlements] and marched out [gathered, assembled] for battle [war, conflict]. word study 8 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 warriors, champions]. word study 9 The Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] marched out [came out, set out] and arrayed [set in battle array, put the battle in order] themselves for battle [war, conflict] at the entrance [gate, doorway] to the city [town, settlement], while the kings [royal rulers, monarchs] who had come [approached, arrived] stayed by themselves [alone, apart] in the open country [field, plain]. word study 10 When Joab [the nephew of King David, a skilled military leader] saw the battle lines [set in array, positioned for war] before him and behind him, he selected [chose, picked out] some of the best men [the choice, the bravest] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] and arrayed [put in order, set in array] them against the Arameans [the people of Aram, the Syrians]. word study 11 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 [descendants of Lot, a neighboring nation]. word study 12 “If the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] are too strong [powerful, courageous] for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue [deliverance, salvation] [to save, to help]. And if the Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] are too strong [prevail, conquer] for you, then I will come to your rescue [aid, assistance] [to succour, to help]. word study 13 Be strong [courageous, brave] and let us fight bravely [play the man, behave valiantly] for our people [nation, community] and for the cities [towns, settlements] of our God [Elohim, the supreme God]. May the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] do what is good [pleasant, beneficial] in His sight [eye, judgment].” word study 14 So Joab [King David’s nephew and army general] and his troops [people who were with him] advanced [drew near, approached] to fight [unto the battle, to engage in war] the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram], who [they] fled [ran away, went in flight] before him [from his presence, from his face]. word study 15 When the Ammonites [sons of Ammon, a nation] saw that the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] had fled [run away, escaped], they too [also, likewise] fled [ran away, retreated] before Joab’s brother [relative, male sibling] Abishai, and they entered [went into, came into] the city [town, settlement]. So Joab [Jehovah is father, a prominent Israelite] went back [returned, came back] to Jerusalem [city of peace, capital of Palestine]. word study 16 When the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] saw that they had been defeated [put to the worse, smitten] by Israel [God’s chosen people], they sent [dispatched, caused to depart] messengers [representatives] to bring more Arameans [Syrians, people from beyond the river] from beyond the Euphrates [the river], with Shophach [a Syrian general, commander] the commander [ruler, captain] of Hadadezer’s [a Syrian king, Hadad is help] army [a large group, campaign] leading them [before them, at their head]. word study 17 When this was reported [told, declared openly] to David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], he gathered [brought together, assembled] all Israel [the descendants of Jacob], crossed [passed over, transitioned] the Jordan [the river running from Lebanon to the Dead Sea], advanced [came, approached] toward the Arameans [the people of Aram, also known as Syria], and arrayed [set in order, arranged] for battle [war, conflict] against them. When David lined up [put in array, set in order] to engage them in battle [to meet, encounter], they fought [warred, battled] against him [with, together]. word study 18 But the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] fled [ran away quickly] before Israel [the descendants of Jacob], and David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] killed [slew with intent, put to death] seven thousand [a large number, 7000] of their charioteers [men who fought in chariots, cavalry] and forty thousand [a multitude, 40,000] foot soldiers [men on foot, infantry]. He also killed [slayed, destroyed] Shophach [a Syrian general, captain of the host] the commander [ruler, leader] of their army [a large group of people, military force]. word study 19 When Hadadezer’s subjects [servants, slaves] saw that they had been defeated [put to the worse, overcome] by Israel, they made peace [to be at peace, to complete] with David [the king of Israel, a descendant of Jesse] and became subject [servants, slaves] to him. So the Arameans [Syrians, people of Aram] were unwilling [did not want, did not consent] to help the Ammonites [children of Ammon, descendants of Lot] anymore. word study