Back to 2 Samuel 12

2 Samuel 12:26-29

Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.”

David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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2 Samuel 12:26-29 sits inside this longer paragraph.

Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.”

David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. He brought a great quantity of plunder out of the city. He brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, under iron picks, under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln; and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

    Joab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters.

    Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called by my name.”

    David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

  • KJV King James Version

    And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

    And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

    Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.

    And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

    And Joab sent messengers to David, and said: 'I have fought against Rabbah, yea, I have taken the city of waters.

    Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.'

    And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.

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Cross-references (7)

  • 1 Chronicles 20:1-3 (v26) At the time of the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, Joab led out the army, and wasted the country of the children of…
  • Deuteronomy 3:11 (vv26–27) (For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Isn’t it in Rabbah of the…
  • 2 Samuel 11:1 (v27) At the return of the year, at the time when kings go out, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed…
  • 2 Samuel 11:25 (v26) Then David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Make your…
  • Ezekiel 21:20 (v27) You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
Show all 6 cross-references
  • John 7:18 (v28) He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

6 distinct cross-references across this passage (7 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (19 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv26–28 Or the chief city.

Or the chief city.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–29 2Sa 12:26 And Joab fought against Rabbah of the…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv26–29 i.e. That part of the city where was the…
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v26 We have here an account of the conquest of…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv26–29 And Joab sent messengers to David,.... To acquaint him…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv26–28 Royal city - That is, that part of the…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv26–27 Verse 26. And took the royal city.] How can…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29 2Sa 12:26-27. Took the royal city — That is,…
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v27 The city of waters - The lower town of…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv27–28 The city of waters. Rabbath, the royal city of…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv26–28 RABBAH IS TAKEN. (Sa2 12:26-31)
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29 CONQUEST OF RABBAH, 2Sa_12:26-30.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv26–28 26. And Joab fought against Rabbah] The narrative returns…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv26, 28 (26) Took the royal city.—The parallel narrative is resumed…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v26 Joab took the royal city. As the siege of…
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v26 2Sa_12:26. The narrative now returns to chapter 2Sa_11:1. “The…
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v26 Success Against the Ammonites
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 29 Joab fought ... he captured
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v26 12:26-31 David’s battle with the Ammonites, begun in ch…
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