1 After this, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king in his place.
2 Then David said, 'I will show kindness to Hanun, the son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me.' So David sent his servants to console Hanun about his father. But when David’s servants arrived in the land of the Ammonites,
3 the officials of the Ammonites said to Hanun, their lord, 'Do you really think David is honoring your father by sending comforters to you? Isn’t it rather to investigate, spy out the city, and overthrow it that David has sent his servants to you?'
4 So Hanun seized David's servants, shaved off half of their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, exposing their buttocks, and sent them away.
5 When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet them, for the men were greatly humiliated. The king said, 'Stay at Jericho until your beards grow back, and then return.'
6 When the Ammonites realized they had become odious to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-Rehob and Zobah, as well as the king of Maacah with one thousand men, and twelve thousand men from Tob.