¹Beberapa waktu kemudian Nahas raja Amon meninggal, dan Hanun putranya menjadi raja.

¹It happened after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.

²Lalu berkatalah Raja Daud, "Nahas adalah sahabatku yang setia. Jadi aku harus bersahabat juga dengan Hanun anaknya." Karena itu Daud mengirim utusan ke negeri Amon untuk menghibur Hanun atas kematian ayahnya.

²David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.

³Ketika mereka sampai di Amon, para pemimpin negeri itu berkata kepada Raja Hanun, "Janganlah Baginda berpikir Daud mengirim utusannya itu karena ia mau menghormati ayah Baginda! Ia mengirim orang-orang itu ke mari sebagai mata-mata untuk menyelidiki kota ini, supaya dapat merebutnya."

³But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think that David honors your father, in that he has sent comforters to you? Hasn’t David sent his servants to you to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?”

⁴Lalu Hanun menangkap para utusan Daud itu, mencukur jenggot mereka sebelah, memotong pakaian mereka sependek pinggul, dan menyuruh mereka pergi.

⁴So Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

⁵Tetapi mereka malu untuk pulang ke negeri mereka. Ketika hal itu diberitahukan kepada Daud, ia mengirim pesan supaya utusan-utusan itu tinggal di Yerikho sampai jenggot mereka tumbuh lagi.

⁵When they told it to David, he sent to meet them; for the men were greatly ashamed. The king said, “Wait at Jericho until your beards have grown, and then return.”

⁶Kemudian orang Amon menyadari bahwa perbuatan mereka menyebabkan Daud memusuhi mereka. Sebab itu mereka menyewa 20.000 orang prajurit Siria yang tinggal di Bet-Rehob dan Zoba, juga 12.000 orang prajurit dari Tob, serta raja negeri Maakha dengan 1.000 orang anak buahnya.

⁶When the children of Ammon saw that they were become odious to David, the children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Beth Rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, twenty thousand footmen, and the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and the men of Tob twelve thousand men.

⁷Ketika Daud mendengar hal itu, ia menyuruh Yoab dengan seluruh angkatan perangnya maju melawan musuh.

⁷When David heard of it, he sent Joab, and all the army of the mighty men.

⁸Orang Amon ke luar dan mengatur barisannya di depan pintu gerbang Raba ibukota mereka, sedangkan orang Siria, orang Tob dan Maakha mengatur barisan mereka di padang.

⁸The children of Ammon came out, and put the battle in array at the entrance of the gate: and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob, and the men of Tob and Maacah, were by themselves in the field.

⁹Yoab melihat bahwa ia terjepit oleh pasukan musuh di depan dan di belakang. Karena itu ia memilih tentara Israel yang terbaik dan menempatkan mereka berhadap-hadapan dengan tentara Siria.

⁹Now when Joab saw that the battle was set against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians:

¹⁰Selebihnya dari tentara Israel diserahkannya kepada Abisai adiknya, yang mengatur barisan mereka berhadap-hadapan dengan tentara Amon.

¹⁰The rest of the people he committed into the hand of Abishai his brother; and he put them in array against the children of Ammon.

¹¹Yoab berkata kepada adiknya itu, "Jika aku tidak sanggup lagi bertahan terhadap tentara Siria, cepatlah tolong aku; sebaliknya, jika engkau tidak sanggup lagi bertahan terhadap tentara Amon, aku akan datang menolongmu.

¹¹He said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the children of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.

¹²Tabahlah! Mari kita berjuang dengan berani untuk bangsa kita dan untuk kota-kota Allah kita. Semoga TUHAN melakukan apa yang dikehendaki-Nya."

¹²Be courageous, and let us be strong for our people, and for the cities of our God; and Yahweh do that which seems good to him.”

¹³Yoab dan pasukannya maju menyerang, sehingga tentara Siria lari.

¹³So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Syrians: and they fled before him.

¹⁴Ketika orang Amon melihat tentara Siria melarikan diri, mereka juga lari dari Abisai dan mundur ke dalam kota. Setelah memerangi orang Amon, Yoab pulang ke Yerusalem.

¹⁴When the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians had fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, and entered into the city. Then Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

¹⁵Orang Siria sadar bahwa mereka telah dikalahkan oleh orang Israel, sebab itu mereka memanggil segenap pasukannya supaya berkumpul lagi.

¹⁵When the Syrians saw that they were defeated by Israel, they gathered themselves together.

¹⁶Lalu Raja Hadadezer menyuruh memanggil orang Siria yang ada di sebelah timur Sungai Efrat, maka datanglah mereka ke Helam di bawah pimpinan Sobakh, panglima tentara Raja Hadadezer dari Zoba.

¹⁶Hadadezer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River: and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the army of Hadadezer at their head.

¹⁷Mendengar hal itu, Daud segera mengumpulkan seluruh pasukan Israel, lalu menyeberangi Sungai Yordan, kemudian maju ke Helam. Di situ orang Siria mengatur barisan mereka lalu maju menyerang pasukan Daud.

¹⁷It was told David; and he gathered all Israel together, and passed over the Jordan, and came to Helam. The Syrians set themselves in array against David, and fought with him.

¹⁸Tetapi orang Israel memukul mundur tentara Siria. Daud dan pasukannya menewaskan 700 orang pengemudi kereta perang, dan 40.000 orang tentara berkuda; selain itu Sobakh panglima tentara musuh luka parah sehingga gugur di medan pertempuran.

¹⁸The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians seven hundred charioteers, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their army, so that he died there.

¹⁹Ketika raja-raja yang dikuasai Hadadezer melihat bahwa mereka dikalahkan oleh tentara Israel, mereka minta berdamai lalu takluk kepada orang Israel. Sejak itu orang Siria tidak berani lagi membantu orang Amon.

¹⁹When all the kings who were servants to Hadadezer saw that they were defeated before Israel, they made peace with Israel, and served them. So the Syrians feared to help the children of Ammon any more.