1 The king of Ammon died. His son Hanun became king. ⚰️➡️ 2 King David wanted to be kind. He sent men to Hanun to say, “We are sorry your dad died.” 3 The leaders of Ammon said to Hanun, “Do not trust David. Maybe his men came to spy.” ️ 4 Hanun took David’s men. He cut half their beards. He cut their clothes short. Then he sent them away. ✂️ 5 David heard. He cared for his men. He said, “Stay in Jericho. Wait till your beards grow. Then come back.” ⏳️ 6 Ammon saw David was mad. They paid men from Aram and other places to fight with them. There were many. ️ 7 David heard. He sent Joab and the strong army to go out. ️ 8 Ammon came out and stood by the city gate. The men from Aram stood in the field by themselves. ⚔️ 9 Joab saw men in front and back. He took the best fighters to face Aram. ️ 10 Joab gave the rest to his brother Abishai to face Ammon. ️ 11 Joab said, “If Aram is too strong for me, help me. If Ammon is too strong for you, I will help you.” ⚔️ 12 “Be brave! We fight for our people and for God’s towns. God will do what He wants.” ️ 13 Joab and his men moved to fight Aram. Aram ran away. ♂️ 14 Ammon saw Aram run. Ammon ran into the city. Joab went back to Jerusalem. ♂️️↩️️ 15 Aram came together again after they lost. They got ready again. ️ 16 Hadadezer called more men from across a big river. The boss soldier was Shobach. They came to a place named Helam. ➡️️ 17 David gathered all Israel. They crossed the Jordan River and came to Helam. Aram lined up to fight. ♂️⚔️ 18 Aram ran away from Israel. Many of their men fell. David hit the army hard. Shobach, the boss soldier, died there. ♂️⚔️ 19 Other kings saw this. They made peace with Israel. They did not help Ammon again. ️