20:1 In the spring, at the time when kings march to war,¹ Joab led the army into battle and devastated the land of the Ammonites. He went and besieged Rabbah, while David stayed in Jerusalem. Joab defeated Rabbah and tore it down. 20:2 David took the crown from the head of their king (its weight was a unit² of gold and it was set with precious stones) and wore it.³ He took a large amount of loot from the city. 20:3 He took the city’s residents and made them work with saws, iron picks and axes.⁴ David did this to all the cities of the Ammonites; then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

20:4 Later there was a battle⁵ with the Philistines in Gezer. At that time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendents of the Rephaim, and the Philistines⁶ were subdued.

20:5 There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elchanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite,⁷ whose spear had a shaft as big as the cross beam of a weaver’s loom.

20:6 In a battle in Gath⁸ there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot—24 in all! He too was a descendent of Rapha. 20:7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.

20:8 These were the descendents of Rapha who lived in Gath; they fell by the hand of David and his soldiers.⁹