Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 19:3
the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Have not his servants come to you to explore the land, spy it out, and overthrow it?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Ammonite princes address King Hanun immediately after David’s condolence messengers arrive, questioning whether David’s gesture is genuine or a cover for military reconnaissance.
The words — The Hebrew הַמְכַבֵּד (ha-meḵabbed) translates literally as “is honoring,” anchoring the princes’ suspicion that David’s diplomatic mission masks hostile intent.
The thread — This accusation of espionage parallels biblical accounts where reconnaissance missions conceal hostile purposes, specifically Genesis 42:9, Joshua 2:1, and Judges 1:23.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to identify how political distrust can reframe diplomatic goodwill as an immediate threat, demanding a clear distinction between stated actions and perceived motives.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? are not his servants come unto thee for to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?
Cross-references
- Genesis 42:9 Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Judges 1:23 They sent spies to Bethel (formerly known as Luz),
- Judges 18:2 So the Danites sent out five men from their clans, men of valor from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. “Go and explore the land,” they told them. The men entered the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night.
- Judges 18:8 When the men returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What did you find?”
- 1 Samuel 29:4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him. He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the war. What better way for him to regain the favor of his master than with the heads of our men?
- 1 Samuel 29:9 Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
- 1 Kings 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
- 1 Corinthians 13:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.