David sends messengers to the nearby kingdom of Ammon to express his condolences for the death of the their king. The new king embarrasses David's messengers and sends them back in disgrace. David is furious and sends Joab and his mighty men to teach them a lesson. Joab is victorious but doesn't crush the Ammonites. They come back with Syrian mercenaries and this time, David leads the army and crushes them. The Syrians become afriad of Israel and refuse to fight for the Ammonites again.