Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageSo Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half their beards, and cut their robes off at the waist—exposing their buttocks—then sent them away in disgrace.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GSo Chanun seized Dawid's servants, shaved off half their beards, cut their garments in half at the buttocks, and sent them away.
KJV
King James VersionWherefore Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleSo Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
Footnotes
The act is calculated for maximum humiliation within an honour-shame culture. The beard was the emblem of adult male dignity throughout the ancient Near East; to shave half of it left a man grotesque—neither groomed nor fully shaved—a figure of public ridicule. The phrase *ad shethotheihem* (עַד שְׁתוֹתֵיהֶם), "to their buttocks," describes the garments being cut so short that the genitals were exposed, an act of degradation verging on sexualised violence. These men literally could not return home without importing that shame onto the king himself. David's response in v.5 is as pastoral as it is political: he shields them from public view until their dignity can be restored.
