1 Chronicles 20
What Happens in This Chapter
Joab leads Israel's army against the Ammonites and destroys their capital city, Rabbah, while David stays in Jerusalem until the end. David takes the enemy king's gold crown and much treasure, and puts the captured people to hard labor. The chapter then lists three battles with the Philistines, in which David's soldiers kill three very tall fighters from the same family in Gath.
Plain reading written for kids. Short sentences, everyday words, one idea at a time.
And it came to pass, that after the year was expired, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.
1In the spring, the time when kings went out to war, Joab led Israel's army out. He ruined the land of the Ammonites. Then he came to the city of Rabbah and surrounded it. But David stayed home in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and tore it down.
2And David took the crown of their king from off his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought also exceeding much spoil out of the city.
2David took the crown off the head of the Ammonite king. The crown weighed a talent of gold and had jewels set in it. The crown was placed on David's head. David also carried away many valuable things from the city.
A talent was a weight of about 75 pounds. That crown was very heavy to wear.
3And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
3David brought out the people who lived in the city. He put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. He did the same thing in all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all his men went back to Jerusalem.
The KJV says David "cut them with saws." The Hebrew word here is nearly the same as a word meaning "set them to work." Translators disagree about which one it is. The Berean and most modern versions read it as forced labor with saws, picks, and axes.
4And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.
4Some time later, war started with the Philistines at a town called Gezer. In that battle Sibbechai from Hushah killed Sippai. Sippai came from a family of very tall, strong men. The Philistines were beaten.
5And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver’s beam.
5There was another battle with the Philistines. Elhanan son of Jair killed a man named Lahmi. Lahmi was the brother of Goliath, who came from the town of Gath. The handle of his spear was as thick as a bar on a weaving machine.
6And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot and he also was the son of the giant.
6There was still another battle, at Gath. A very tall man was fighting there. He had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. That is twenty-four in all. He came from that same family of tall men.
7But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him.
7He made fun of Israel and dared them to fight him. Jonathan killed him. Jonathan's father was Shimea, and Shimea was David's brother.
8These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.
8All these men came from that family of tall men in Gath. David and his soldiers defeated every one of them.
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