² David thought, “I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash,^(A) just as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David’s men came to the land of the Ammonites, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun their lord, “Do you think David is honoring your father by sending envoys to you to express sympathy? Hasn’t David sent them to you only to explore the city and spy it out^(B) and overthrow it?” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s envoys, shaved off half of each man’s beard,^(C) cut off their garments at the buttocks,^(D) and sent them away.