Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the midst hard by their buttocks, and sent them away.
Parallel translations
- WEB So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle at their buttocks, and sent them away.
- BSB So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
- NKJV Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at their buttocks, and sent them away.
- NASB So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved them, and cut off their robes in the middle as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.
- NLT So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved them, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hanun shames David's servants by shaving them and cutting off their garments. It is a grave public insult that provokes war.
Overview
Hanun humiliates the envoys, an act that in the ancient world was a deliberate provocation and a violation of diplomatic honor. Insulting an ambassador insulted the king who sent him. This rash cruelty sets in motion the conflict that follows and illustrates the folly of despising offered kindness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Sam 10:4–5Wherefore Hanun took David’s servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
- Lev 19:27Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
- Isa 15:2He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
- 2 Chr 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
- Jer 48:37For every head shall be bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon the loins sackcloth.
- Isa 47:2–3Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers.
- Ps 35:12They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul.
- Ps 109:4–5For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
- Isa 20:4So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
- Jer 41:5That there came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
- Luke 20:10–11And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
- Mark 12:4And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled.
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Christ at the center
The genealogies and the everlasting covenant with David trace the single thread of promise running through the generations straight to the Christ in whom the line reaches its goal.
How 1 Chronicles 19:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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