1After this, the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place.2David said, "I will show steadfast love to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed steadfast love to me." And David sent his servants to comfort him concerning his father, and David's servants came to the land of the sons of Ammon.3The princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, “Does David honor your father in your eyes, because he sent comforters to you? Is it not to spy out the city and overthrow it that David sent his servants to you?”4And Hanun took David's servants and shaved off half their beards and cut off their garments at half up to their buttocks and sent them away.5They told David, and he sent men to meet them, for the men were very ashamed. And the king said, "Return to Jericho until your beard grows, and then return."6The sons of Ammon saw that they had become a stench to David, and the sons of Ammon sent and hired the Arameans of Beth-Rehob and the Arameans of Zobah—twenty thousand footmen—the king of Maacah with a thousand men, and the men of Tob, twelve thousand men.7And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the army, the mighty men.8And the sons of Ammon went out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and Ish-Tob and Maacah by themselves in the field.9Joab saw that the face of the war was against him from front and rear, and he chose from all the chosen ones of Israel and arranged them to meet Aram.10The rest of the people he placed under the command of Abshai his brother, and he drew them up in array to meet the sons of Ammon.11And he said, "If the Arameans become too strong for me, then you shall help me, and if the sons of Ammon become too strong for you, then I will come to help you."12Be strong, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And the LORD will do what is good in his eyes.13Joab drew near, along with the people who were with him, to battle against Aram, and they fled from before him.14The sons of Ammon saw that Aram had fled, so they fled from before Abishai and came into the city. And Joab returned from the sons of Ammon and came to Jerusalem.15When Aram saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they gathered together.16Hadadezer sent and went out with Aram from beyond the River, and their army came with Shobach the commander of the army of Hadadezer before them.17When David was told this, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and came to Helam. Aram arrayed themselves to meet David, and they fought with him.18The Arameans fled from before Israel, and David killed seven hundred chariots of the Arameans and forty thousand horsemen. He struck down Shobach the chief of their army, and he died there.19When all the kings, the servants of Hadadezer, saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and served them. And Aram was afraid to help the sons of Ammon any further.