12:27 And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of {r} waters.
(r) That is, the chief city and where all the water pipes are, is as good as taken.
12:27 Of waters - Rabbah was so called because it was encompassed with water.
12:26-31 To be thus severe in putting the children of Ammon to slavery was a sign that David's heart was not yet made soft by repentance, at the time when this took place. We shall be most compassionate, kind, and forgiving to others, when we most feel our need of the Lord's forgiving love, and taste the sweetness of it in our own souls.
