1 Chronicles 20

1 And it came to pass, that after the year had ended, at the time that kings go out to battle, Joab led forth the power of the army, and wasted the country of the children of Ammon, and came and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem. And Joab smote Rabbah, and destroyed it.

[In that region], kings usually went [with their armies] to fight [their enemies] (in the springtime/when the cold season ended). But that year, David [did not do that. Instead, he] stayed in Jerusalem, and he sent [his commander] Joab [to lead the army]. Joab took his troops. They [crossed the Jordan River and] ruined the land of the Ammon people-group. Then they went to Rabbah, [the capital city, ] and surrounded it. David stayed in Jerusalem [for a while. But later he took more troops and went to help] Joab. Their armies attacked Rabbah and destroyed it.

2 And David took the crown of their king from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set upon David’s head: and he brought also a great quantity of spoil out of the city.

Then David took the crown from the head of the king of Rabbah (OR, from the head of their god Milcom) and put it on his own head. It [was very heavy; it] weighed (75 pounds/34 kg.), and it had many very valuable stones [fastened to it]. They also took many other valuable things from the city.

3 And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with instruments of iron, and with axes. Even so David dealt with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

Then they brought the people out of the city and forced them to [work for their army, ] using saws and iron picks and axes. David’s soldiers did this in all the cities of the Ammon people-group. Then David and all of his army returned to Jerusalem.

4 And it came to pass after this, that there arose war at Gezer with the Philistines; at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Sippai, that was of the children of the giant: and they were subdued.

Later, [David’s army] fought a battle with the army of Philistia, at Gezer [city]. During the battle Sibbecai, from Hushah [clan], killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rapha [giants]. So the armies of Philistia were defeated.

5 And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear’s shaft was like a weaver’s beam.

In another battle against the soldiers of Philistia, Elhanan, the son of Jair, killed Lahmi, the [younger] brother of [the giant] Goliath from Gath [town], who had a spear which was as thick as a weaver’s rod.

6 And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and six on each foot: and he also was the son of the giant.

There was another battle near Gath. A (huge man/giant) was there who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He was descended from [the] Rapha [giants].

7 But when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea David’s brother slew him.

When he made fun of the soldiers of Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s [older] brother Shimea, killed him.

8 These were born to the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Those were some of the descendants of [the] Rapha [giants] who had lived in Gath, who were killed [MTY] by David and his soldiers.