1 And it happened after this {acharei-ken: temporal marker} that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son Hanun reigned in his place {tachtav: succession}.
2 And David said, “I will show kindness {chesed: covenant loyalty} to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed me kindness.” Then David sent to comfort {nachamo: compassionate solace} him by the hand of his servants concerning his father, and his servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon.
3 And the commanders {sarei: high-ranking officials} of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Does David honor your father in your eyes by sending comforters to you? Is it not rather for the purpose of searching out {ḥăqôr: thorough investigation} the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David sent his servants to you?”
4 Hanun seized the servants of David and shaved off half of their beards {zeqanam: symbol of dignity}, cut off half of their garments {madwehem: official robes} up to their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 And they told David, and he sent messengers to meet them because the men were greatly humiliated {nikhlamim: publicly shamed}. Then the king said, “Stay in Jericho until your beard has grown {zakan: sign of dignity}, and then you may return.”
6 When the sons of Ammon saw that they had become detestable{niv’ashu: became repulsive} to David, the sons of Ammon sent and hired Aram of Beth-Rehob and Aram of Zobah, twenty thousand foot soldiers{raglî: infantry units}, and the king of Maakah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob with twelve thousand men.
7 And David heard, and he sent {shalach: dispatched forcefully} Joab and all the army of the mighty men {gibborim: elite warriors}.
8 And the sons of Ammon went out and drew up for battle at the entrance {petach: gateway opening} of the gate, and the Arameans from Tsovah and Rechov and the men of Tob and Maakah were by themselves {levadam: separate deployment} in the field.
9 When Joab saw that the battle {milchamah: military engagement} was set against him both in front and behind, he chose from all the choice men of Israel and arranged them to meet Aram {Aram: the Syrians, ancient enemy nation}.
10 And he gave the rest {yeter: remaining forces} of the people into the hand of his brother Abishai, and he arranged {vayya'arokh: deployed} them to confront the sons of Ammon.
11 And he said, “If Aram is too strong for me, then you shall be my deliverance {yishua: help}; but if the sons of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will go to your aid {hoshia: rescue}.”
12 Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for our people and for the cities of our God {Eloheinu, Divine Protector}; the LORD {YHWH, Sovereign Arbiter} will do what is good in his eyes.
13 Then Joab {Yoav: Battle Commander} and the people who were with him drew near to the battle {milchamah: Organized Warfare} against Aram, and they fled from before him.
14 And the sons {benei: tribal group designation} of Ammon saw that the Arameans had fled, so they also fled before Abishai and entered the city {ir: fortified settlement}. Then Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.
15 When Aram saw that he had been struck down {nigaf: battle defeat} before Israel, they gathered themselves together {yachad: single force}.
16 And Hadadezer sent out the Arameans who were from beyond the River {nahar: strategic boundary}, and they came to Helam with their army, and Shobak {Shobak: appointive military chief}, the commander of Hadadezer’s army, went before them.
17 When it was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. There the Arameans arrayed {vayyaarkhu: battle formation} to meet David, and they fought with him {immo: his opponents}.
18 And the Syrians fled before Israel, and David killed the men of seven hundred chariots {rekhev: chariot corps} and forty thousand horsemen. He struck down Shobak {Shobak: army commander}, and he died there.
19 And all the kings who were vassals {avdei: those under authority} of Hadadezer saw that they had been routed by Israel, made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Arameans feared to come to the aid {hoshia: deliver assistance} of the sons of Ammon anymore.