10
When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans.
8
When David heard this, he dispatched Joab with his strongest fighters in full force.
9
The Ammonites marched out and spread out in battle formation at the city gate; the kings who had come as allies took up a position in the open fields.
10
When Joab saw that he had two fronts to fight, before and behind, he took his pick of the best of Israel and deployed them to confront the Arameans.
11
The rest of the army he put under the command of Abishai, his brother, and deployed them to deal with the Ammonites.
12
Then he said, "If the Arameans are too much for me, you help me; and if the Ammonites prove too much for you, I'll come and help you.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.