1 Chronicles 19

¹And it cometh to pass after this, that Nahash king of the sons of Ammon dieth, and his son reigneth in his stead,

²and David saith, 'I do kindness with Hanun son of Nahash, for his father did with me kindness;' and David sendeth messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And the servants of David come in unto the land of the sons of Ammon, unto Hanun, to comfort him,

³and the heads of the sons of Ammon say to Hanun, 'Is David honouring thy father, in thine eyes, because he hath sent to thee comforters? in order to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out, the land, have not his servants come in unto thee?'

⁴And Hanun taketh the servants of David, and shaveth them, and cutteth their long robes in the midst, unto the buttocks, and sendeth them away.

⁵And [some] go, and declare to David concerning the men, and he sendeth to meet them — for the men have been greatly ashamed — and the king saith, 'Dwell in Jericho till that your beard is grown, then ye have returned.'

⁶And the sons of Ammon see that they have made themselves abhorred by David, and Hanun and the sons of Ammon send a thousand talents of silver, to hire to them, from Aram-Naharaim, and from Aram-Maachah, and from Zobah, chariots and horsemen;

⁷and they hire to them two and thirty thousand chariots, and the king of Maachah and his people, and they come in and encamp before Medeba, and the sons of Ammon have been gathered out of their cities, and come in to the battle.

⁸And David heareth, and sendeth Joab, and all the host of the mighty men,

⁹and the sons of Ammon come out and set battle in array at the opening of the city, and the kings who have come [are] by themselves in the field.