2 Samuel 10:1–6

^aAnd it came to pass after this, that the king of the ^bchildren of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. ²Then said David, ^cI will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. ³And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it? ⁴Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, ^deven to their buttocks, and sent them away. ⁵When they told it unto David, he sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed: and the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. ⁶And when the children of Ammon saw that they ^estank before David, the children of Ammon sent and hired ^fthe Syrians of ^fBeth-rehob, and ^gthe Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen, and of king ^hMaacah a thousand men, and of Ish-tob twelve thousand men.