Therefore Hanun took David’s servants, shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, at 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.
- KJV 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.
- BSB So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, 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 10:4–5So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
- Lev 19:27“‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard.
- Isa 15:2They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off.
- 2 Chr 36:16but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and scoffed at his prophets, until Yahweh’s wrath arose against his people, until there was no remedy.
- Jer 48:37For every head is bald, and every beard clipped. There are cuttings on all the hands, and sackcloth on the waist.
- Isa 47:2–3Take the millstones, and grind flour. Remove your veil, lift up your skirt, uncover your legs, and wade through the rivers.
- Ps 35:12They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.
- Ps 109:4–5In return for my love, they are my adversaries; but I am in prayer.
- Isa 20:4so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
- Jer 41:5men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even eighty men, having their beards shaved and their clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with meal offerings and frankincense in their hand, to bring them to Yahweh’s house.
- Luke 20:10–11At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
- Mark 12:4Again, he sent another servant to them; and they threw stones at him, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.
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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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