1 Chronicles 20:1-8 King James Version (KJV)

1 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.

2 And 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.

3 And 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.

4 And 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.

5 And 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.

6 And 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.

7 But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.

8 These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And it came to pass, that after H6256 the year H8141 was expired, H8666 at the time H6256 that kings H4428 go out H3318 to battle, Joab H3097 led forth H5090 the power H2428 of the army, H6635 and wasted H7843 the country H776 of the children H1121 of Ammon, H5983 and came H935 and besieged H6696 Rabbah. H7237 But David H1732 tarried H3427 at Jerusalem. H3389 And Joab H3097 smote H5221 Rabbah, H7237 and destroyed H2040 it.

2 And David H1732 took H3947 the crown H5850 of their king H4428 from off his head, H7218 and found H4672 it to weigh H4948 a talent H3603 of gold, H2091 and there were precious H3368 stones H68 in it; and it was set upon David's H1732 head: H7218 and he brought H3318 also exceeding H3966 much H7235 spoil H7998 out of the city. H5892

3 And he brought out H3318 the people H5971 that were in it, and cut H7787 them with saws, H4050 and with harrows H2757 of iron, H1270 and with axes. H4050 Even so dealt H6213 David H1732 with all the cities H5892 of the children H1121 of Ammon. H5983 And David H1732 and all the people H5971 returned H7725 to Jerusalem. H3389

4 And it came to pass after this, H310 that there arose H5975 war H4421 at Gezer H1507 with the Philistines; H6430 at which time H227 Sibbechai H5444 the Hushathite H2843 slew H5221 Sippai, H5598 that was of the children H3211 of the giant: H7497 and they were subdued. H3665

5 And there was war H4421 again with the Philistines; H6430 and Elhanan H445 the son H1121 of Jair H3265 slew H5221 Lahmi H3902 the brother H251 of Goliath H1555 the Gittite, H1663 whose spear H2595 staff H6086 was like a weaver's H707 beam. H4500

6 And yet again there was war H4421 at Gath, H1661 where was a man H376 of great stature, H4060 whose fingers H676 and toes H676 were four H702 and twenty, H6242 six H8337 on each hand, and six H8337 on each foot: and he also was the son H3205 of the giant. H7497

7 But when he defied H2778 Israel, H3478 Jonathan H3083 the son H1121 of Shimea H8092 David's H1732 brother H251 slew H5221 him.

8 These H411 were born H3205 unto the giant H7497 in Gath; H1661 and they fell H5307 by the hand H3027 of David, H1732 and by the hand H3027 of his servants. H5650


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 American Standard (ASV)

1 And it came to pass, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out `to battle', that Joab led forth 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 overthrew it.

2 And 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 forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.

3 And he brought forth the people that were therein, and cut `them' with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus did David unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines: then Sibbecai the Hushathite slew Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued.

5 And there was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

6 And there was again 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 born unto the giant.

7 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother slew him.

8 These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And it cometh to pass, at the time of the turn of the year -- at the time of the going out of the messengers -- that Joab leadeth out the force of the host, and destroyeth the land of the sons of Ammon, and cometh in and beseigeth Rabbah -- David is abiding in Jerusalem -- and Joab smiteth Rabbah, and breaketh it down.

2 And David taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and findeth it `in' weight a talent of gold, and in it a precious stone, and it is on the head of David: and spoil of the city he hath brought out very much,

3 and the people who `are' in it he hath brought out, and setteth to the saw, and to cutting instruments of iron, and to axes; and thus doth David to all cities of the sons of Ammon, and David turneth back, and all the people, to Jerusalem.

4 And it cometh to pass, after this, that there remaineth war in Gezer with the Philistines, then hath Sibbechai the Hushathite smitten Sippai, of the children of the giant, and they are humbled.

5 And there is again war with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair smiteth Lahmi, brother of Goliath the Gittite, the wood of whose spear `is' like a beam of weavers.

6 And there is again war in Gath, and there is a man of measure, and his fingers and his toes `are' six and six, twenty and four, and also, he hath been born to the giant.

7 And he reproacheth Israel, and smite him doth Jonathan son of Shimea, brother of David.

8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fall by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And it came to pass at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go forth, that Joab led forth the power of the army, and laid waste the land of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David abode at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and overthrew it.

2 And 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 forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with the saw, and with harrows of iron, and with saws. And so David did to all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbechai the Hushathite smote Sippai, one of the children of Rapha; and they were subdued.

5 And there was again a battle with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair smote Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite; now the shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam.

6 And there was again a battle, at Gath; and there was a man [there] of great stature, whose fingers [and toes] were four and twenty, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]; and he also was born to Rapha.

7 And he defied Israel; but Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother smote him.

8 These were born to Rapha in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 World English Bible (WEB)

1 It happened, at the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out [to battle], that Joab led forth the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. Joab struck Rabbah, and overthrew it.

2 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 on David's head: and he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.

3 He brought forth the people who were therein, and cut [them] with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Thus did David to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

4 It happened after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines: then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, of the sons of the giant; and they were subdued.

5 There was again war with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

6 There was again war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were twenty-four, six [on each hand], and six [on each foot]; and he also was born to the giant.

7 When he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David's brother killed him.

8 These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.


1 Chronicles 20:1-8 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 Now in the spring, at the time when kings go out to war, Joab went out at the head of the armed forces and made waste all the land of the Ammonites and put his men in position before Rabbah, shutting it in. But David was still at Jerusalem. And Joab took Rabbah and made it waste.

2 And David took the crown of Milcom from off his head; its weight was a talent of gold and it had stones of great price in it; and it was put on David's head, and he took a great store of goods from the town.

3 And he took the people out of the town and put them to work with wood-cutting instruments, and iron grain-crushers, and axes. And this he did to all the towns of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people went back to Jerusalem.

4 Now after this there was war with the Philistines at Gezer; then Sibbecai the Hushathite put to death Sippai, one of the offspring of the Rephaim; and they were overcome.

5 And again there was war with the Philistines; and Elhanan, the son of Jair, put to death Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the stem of whose spear was like a cloth-worker's rod.

6 And again there was war at Gath, where there was a very tall man, who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on his hands and six toes on his feet; he was one of the offspring of the Rephaim.

7 And when he put shame on Israel, Jonathan, the son of Shimea, David's brother, put him to death.

8 These were of the offspring of the Rephaim in Gath; they came to their death by the hands of David and his servants.

Commentary on 1 Chronicles 20 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 20

1Ch 20:1-3. Rabbah Besieged by Joab, Spoiled by David, and the People Tortured.

1. at the time when kings go out to battle—in spring, the usual season in ancient times for entering on a campaign; that is, a year subsequent to the Syrian war.

Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country … of Ammon—The former campaign had been disastrous, owing chiefly to the hired auxiliaries of the Ammonites; and as it was necessary, as well as just, that they should be severely chastised for their wanton outrage on the Hebrew ambassadors, Joab ravaged their country and invested their capital, Rabbah. After a protracted siege, Joab took one part of it, the lower town or "city of waters," insulated by the winding course of the Jabbok. Knowing that the fort called "the royal city" would soon fall, he invited the king to come in person, and have the honor of storming it. The knowledge of this fact (mentioned in 2Sa 12:26) enables us to reconcile the two statements—"David tarried at Jerusalem" (1Ch 20:1), and "David and all the people returned to Jerusalem" (1Ch 20:3).

2. David took the crown of their king …, and found it to weigh a talent of gold—equal to one hundred twenty-five pounds. Some think that Malcom, rendered in our version "their king," should be taken as a proper name, Milcom or Molech, the Ammonite idol, which, of course, might bear a heavy weight. But, like many other state crowns of Eastern kings, the crown got at Rabbah was not worn on the head, but suspended by chains of gold above the throne.

precious stones—Hebrew, a "stone," or cluster of precious stones, which was set on David's head.

3. cut them with saws, &c.—The Hebrew word, "cut them," is, with the difference of the final letter, the same as that rendered "put them," in the parallel passage of Samuel [2Sa 12:31]; and many consider that putting them to saws, axes, and so forth, means nothing more than that David condemned the inhabitants of Rabbah to hard and penal servitude.

1Ch 20:4-8. Three Overthrows of the Philistines and Three Giants Slain.

4. war at Gezer—or Gob (see 2Sa 21:18-22).