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David thought, ‘I will be kind to Hanun, because his father Nahash was kind to me.’

So David sent some of his officers to give a message to Hanun. David wanted to tell Hanun that he was sorry that Nahash had died. David's officers took his message to the land of the Ammonites.

The leaders of the Ammonites said to Hanun, the king, ‘David has sent his officers to you with a kind message about your father's death. But do not think that he really wants to give honour to your father. No, he has sent his officers to look at our city. They want to see how David's army can attack the city and take it for themselves.’

So Hanun took hold of David's officers. He cut off half the hair from their beards. He also cut off the lower half of their clothes up to their hips.[a] Then he sent them away.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:4 The hip is the top of a person's leg, where it joins their body.