9. The Ammonite troops marched to the entrance of the city and prepared for battle, while the Syrian troops took their positions in the open fields.
10. Joab saw that the enemy troops were lined up on both sides of him. So he picked some of the best Israelite soldiers to fight the Syrians.
11. Then he put his brother Abishai in command of the rest of the army and told them to fight against the Ammonites.
12. Joab told his brother, “If the Syrians are too much for me to handle, come and help me. And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I'll come and help you.
13. Be brave and fight hard to protect our people and the towns of our Lord God. I pray he will do whatever pleases him.”
14. Joab and his soldiers attacked the Syrians, and the Syrians ran from them.
15. When the Ammonite troops saw that the Syrians had run away, they ran from Abishai's soldiers and went back into their own city. Joab then returned to Jerusalem.
16. As soon as the Syrians realized they had been defeated, they sent for their troops that were stationed on the other side of the River Euphrates. Shophach, the commander of Hadadezer's army, led these troops to Ammon.
17. David found out what the Syrians were doing, and he brought Israel's entire army together. They crossed the River Jordan, and he commanded them to take their positions facing the Syrian troops.Soon after the fighting began,
18. the Syrians ran from Israel. David killed seven thousand chariot troops and forty thousand regular soldiers. He also killed Shophach, their commander.