David Takes Bathsheba^(A)

11 In the spring, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, his mercenaries, and Israel’s army ⌞to war⌟. They destroyed the Ammonites and attacked Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem.

David Defeats the Ammonites^(A)

²⁶ Meanwhile, Joab fought against the Ammonite city of Rabbah and captured its royal fortress. ²⁷ So he sent messengers to tell David, “I fought against Rabbah and captured the fortress guarding its water supply. ²⁸ Gather the rest of the troops, surround the city, and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city, and it will be named after me.”

²⁹ So David gathered all the troops and went to Rabbah. He fought against the city and captured it. ³⁰ He took the gold crown from the head of Rabbah’s king and put it on his own head. (The crown weighed 75 pounds and contained a precious stone.) David also took a lot of goods from the city. ³¹ He brought out the troops who were there and put them to work with saws, hoes, and axes. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.

The Giants of the Philistines Defeated^(A)

¹⁵ Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. So David and his men went to fight the Philistines, but David became exhausted. ¹⁶ A descendant of Haraphah named Benob, who had a bronze spear weighing 7½ pounds which he wore on a new belt, captured David and intended to kill him. ¹⁷ But Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to help David. He attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore an oath, saying, “You’ll never go into battle with us again. The lamp of Israel must never be extinguished.”

¹⁸ After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of Haraphah. ¹⁹ When more fighting broke out with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan, son of Jaare Oregim from Bethlehem, killed Goliath of Gath. (The shaft of Goliath’s spear was like a beam used by weavers.) ²⁰ In another battle at Gath, there was a tall man who had a total of 24 fingers and toes: six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He also was a descendant of Haraphah. ²¹ When he challenged Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him. ²² These four were descendants of Haraphah from Gath, and David and his men killed them.