¹In the spring, the time when kings go out to battle, Joab led the army ⸤to war⸥. They destroyed the Ammonites and came to Rabbah to attack it, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down. ²He took the gold crown from the head of Rabbah’s king and put it on David’s head. (The crown was found to weigh 75 pounds, and in it was a precious stone.) David also took a lot of goods from the city. ³He brought out the troops who were there and put them to work with saws, hoes, and axes.^aHe did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the troops returned to Jerusalem.

⁴After this, war broke out with the Philistines at Gezer. Then Sibbecai from Hushah^bkilled Sippai, a descendant of Haraphah, and the Philistines were defeated. ⁵When more fighting broke out with the Philistines, Elhanan, son of Jair, killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath. (The shaft of Lahmi’s spear was like a beam used by weavers.) ⁶In another battle at Gath, there was a tall man who had 24 fingers and toes: six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He also was a descendant of Haraphah. ⁷When he challenged Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimea, killed him. ⁸These ⸤men⸥ were the descendants of Haraphah from Gath, and David and his men killed them.

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Footnotes

a 20:3 One Hebrew manuscript, 2 Samuel 12:31; other Hebrew manuscripts “saws.”
b 20:4 Or “a descendant of Hushah.”