5 When some people came and told David about the men, he sent messengers to meet them for the men were throughly humiliated. The king said: “Stay in Jericho until your beards grow and then return.”
6 When the children of Ammon realized they had made themselves a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent 1,000 talents of silver to hire chariots and charioteers from Aram-naharaim , Aram-maacah and Zobah.
7 So they hired 32,000 chariots along with the king of Maacah and his people, who came and camped before Medeba. The children of Ammon also assembled from their cities and moved out to the battle.
8 On hearing this, David sent Joab and the entire army of mighty men.
9 The children of Ammon came out and took up battle formation at the city gate, while the kings who had come were by themselves in the field.
10 When Joab saw that there was a battle line against him both in front and rear, he selected some of Israel’s best men and deployed them against the Arameans.
11 He put the rest of the people under the command of his brother Abishai, and arrayed them against the Ammonites.