The chapter records the last expansion of David's kingdom. This chapter is also the beginning of a section dealing with the war between Israel and Ammon.
It was apparently the cause of shame or embarrassment in ancient Ammon to have their beards shaved off or to have their garments cut off. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
The Ammon people used a metaphor comparing themselves to a bad smell: "they had become a stench to David" when they realized they had made David very angry. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])