1 WYC Forsothe it was doon aftir these thingis, that Naas, kyng of the sones of Amon, diede; and Anoon, his sone, regnede for hym. And Dauid seide, BSB BSB: Some time later, the king of the Ammonites died and was succeeded by his son Hanun.
2 WYC Y schal do mercy with Anon, the sone of Naas, as his fadir dide mercy with me. Therfor Dauid sente coumfortynge hym by hise seruauntis on the deeth of the fadir. Sotheli whanne the seruauntis of Dauid hadden come in to the lond of the sones of Amon, BSB BSB: And David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent some of his servants to console Hanun concerning his father. But when they arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
3 WYC princes of the sones of Amon seiden to Anon, her lord, Gessist thou that for the onour of thi fadir Dauid sente coumfortouris to thee; and not herfor Dauid sente hise seruauntis to thee, that he schulde aspie, and enserche the citee, and distrie it? BSB BSB: the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
4 WYC Therfor Anoon took the seruauntis of Dauid, and schauyde half the part of `the beerd of hem, and he kittide awey the myddil clothis of hem `til to the buttokis; and lefte hem. BSB BSB: So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
5 WYC And whanne this was teld to Dauid, he sente in to the comyng of hem, for the men weren schent ful vilensly. And Dauid comaundide to hem, Dwelle ye in Jerico, til youre beerd wexe, and thanne turne ye ayen. BSB BSB: When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”
6 WYC Sotheli the sones of Amon sien, that thei hadden do wrong to Dauid, and thei senten, and hiriden bi meede Roob of Sirye, and Soba of Sirie, twenti thousynde of foot men, and of kyng Maacha, a thousynde men, and of Istob twelue thousynde of men. BSB BSB: When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
7 WYC And whanne Dauid hadde herd this, he sent Joab and al the oost of fiyteris. BSB BSB: On hearing this, David sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men.
8 WYC Therfor the sones of Amon yeden out, and dressiden scheltrun bifor hem in the entryng of the yate. Forsothe Soba, and Roob of Sirie, and Istob, and Maacha weren asidis half in the feeld. BSB BSB: The Ammonites marched out and arrayed themselves for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans of Zobah and Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.
9 WYC Therfor Joab siy, that batel was maad redi ayens hym, bothe euene ayens and bihynde the bak; and he chees to hym silf of alle the chosun men of Israel, and ordeynede scheltrun ayens Sirus. BSB BSB: When Joab saw the battle lines before him and behind him, he selected some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Arameans.
10 WYC Forsothe he bitook to Abisai, his brothir, the tother part of the puple, which dresside scheltrun ayens the sones of Amon. BSB BSB: And he placed the rest of the troops under the command of his brother Abishai, who arrayed them against the Ammonites.
11 WYC And Joab seide, If men of Sirie han the maistrie ayens me, thou schalt be to me in to help; sotheli if the sones of Amon han the maistrie ayens thee, Y schal helpe thee; BSB BSB: “If the Arameans are too strong for me,” said Joab, “then you will come to my rescue. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come to your rescue.
12 WYC be thou a strong man, and fiyte we for oure puple, and for the citee of oure God; forsothe the Lord schal do that, that is good in his siyt. BSB BSB: Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and for the cities of our God. May the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
13 WYC Therfor Joab and his puple that was with hym, bigan batel ayens men of Sirie, whiche fledden anoon fro his face. BSB BSB: So Joab and his troops advanced to fight the Arameans, who fled before him.
14 WYC Forsothe the sones of Amon sien, that men of Sirie hadden fled; and thei fledden also fro the face of Abisai, and entriden in to the citee; and Joab turnede ayen fro the sones of Amon, and cam in to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans had fled, they too fled before Abishai, and they entered the city. So Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.
15 WYC Forsothe men of Sirye sien that thei hadden feld bifor Israel, and thei weren gaderid to gidere. BSB BSB: When the Arameans saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they regrouped.
16 WYC And Adadezer sente, and ledde out men of Sirie that weren biyende the flood, and he brouyte the oost of hem; sotheli Sobach, mayster of the chyualrie of Adadezer, was the prince of hem. BSB BSB: Hadadezer sent messengers to bring more Arameans from beyond the Euphrates, and they came to Helam with Shobach the commander of Hadadezer’s army leading them.
17 WYC And whanne this was teld to Dauid, he drow togidere al Israel, and passide Jordan, and cam in to Helama. And men of Sirie dressiden scheltrun ayens Dauid, and fouyten ayens hym. BSB BSB: When this was reported to David, he gathered all Israel, crossed the Jordan, and went to Helam. Then the Arameans arrayed themselves against David and fought against him.
18 WYC And Sireis fledden fro the face of Israel; and Dauid killide of Sireis seuene hundrid charis, and fourti thousynde of knyytis; and he smoot Sobach, the prince of chyualrie, which was deed anoon. BSB BSB: But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven hundred charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers. He also struck down Shobach the commander of their army, who died there.
19 WYC Forsothe alle kyngis, that weren in the help of Adadezer, siyen that thei weren ouercomun of Israel, and thei maden pees with Israel, and serueden hem; and Sireis dredden to yyue help to the sones of Amon. BSB BSB: When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subject to them. So the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites anymore.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.