2 Samuel 12:31
ESV
And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
NIV
and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes, and he made them work at brickmaking. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then he and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.
NASB
He also brought out the people who were in it, and put some to work at saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and made others serve at the brick works. And he did the same to all the cities of the sons of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
CSB
He removed the people who were in the city and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to labor at brickmaking. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then he and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
NLT
He also made slaves of the people of Rabbah and forced them to labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, and to work in the brick kilns. That is how he dealt with the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
KJV
And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
NKJV
And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws and iron picks and iron axes, and made them cross over to the brick works. So he did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
What does 2 Samuel 12:31 mean?
In the time and place of David, culture operated under an honor / shame system. To dishonor someone is to give them a burden of shame that must be answered. Peoples in Asia and some Latin countries still live in this way.Hanun, the king of the Ammonites, dishonored David's messengers. By doing so, the dishonored David and the nation of Israel. David was honor-bound to answer. It took many months, a defeat of hired Syrians, and a dangerous siege, but it's over (2 Samuel 10). The walled city is taken. Hanun is defeated. His great crown is on David's head. His cities, possessions, and people now belong to Israel (2 Samuel 12:26–30).
In the time of the Old Testament, when a city-state was defeated in war and taken as forced labor, that didn't necessarily mean they were kept in slave quarters and had no autonomy. It often meant they were required to provide a certain number of men and women to complete specific tasks. For example, the Gibeonites lived in their own city, but they had to collect firewood and water for the priests (Joshua 9:26–27). Considering the tasks David sets the Ammonites to, they may be rebuilding their own cities.
Passages like 2 Samuel 8 give a summary of David's military exploits in war. Their placement in history isn't clear. It may be that this is the last war David fights. When he is older, he will go with the army to fight the Philistines, but his men will send him to safety when they realize he's too frail (2 Samuel 18:1–4).
God punished David for sin, saying "the sword shall never depart from [David's] house." That violence didn't refer to war; it was internal. David's own family and advisors will bring violence to his life. It starts with his oldest son Amnon, who lusts after his half-sister Tamar and rapes her. Tamar's brother Absalom begins a story of revenge that will haunt David until he dies (2 Samuel 13).
