2 Samuel 3:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you."

NIV: Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, "Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you."

NASB: Then Abner sent messengers to David at his place, saying, 'Whose is the land? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.'

CSB: Abner sent messengers as his representatives to say to David, "Whose land is it? Make your covenant with me, and you can be certain I am on your side to turn all Israel over to you."

NLT: Then Abner sent messengers to David, saying, 'Doesn’t the entire land belong to you? Make a solemn pact with me, and I will help turn over all of Israel to you.'

KJV: And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.

NKJV: Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.”

In 2 Samuel 3:12–19, David finds an unexpected ally. Seven years prior, David became king of Judah; five years after that Abner made Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, king over the other Israelite tribes. An altercation between Abner and Ish-bosheth about what Abner believes he's owed breaks up the partnership. Abner goes to David and promises to deliver Israel to him. David agrees, on the condition that Ish-bosheth returns David's first wife, Michal, to him (1 Samuel 25:44). Abner convinces the tribal elders to switch their allegiances, but Joab kills him before they can travel to David (2 Samuel 3:20–30).

In 2 Samuel 3, God arranges for all of Israel to accept David as king. Abner, the former commander of Saul's army, turns against David's rival, Ish-bosheth, after an argument about a woman. Abner persuades the elders of Israel to take David as their king and arrives in Hebron to deliver the news. Joab, the commander of David's army, is furious because Abner killed his brother Asahel. When Abner leaves, Joab murders him. David declares a curse on Joab and his descendants and publicly mourns for Abner, demonstrating to all that he had nothing to do with Abner's death.

In 2 Samuel 3, the civil war winds down. Abner, Saul's cousin, made Saul's son Ish-bosheth king. Abner commands the army of Israel. Joab, David's nephew, commands Judah's army. They have been locked in a civil war for two years, not least because Abner killed Joab's brother in self-defense (2 Samuel 2). When Abner realizes he can't take the throne from Ish-bosheth, he arranges for Israel to follow David before he's killed by Joab. Not long after, Ish-bosheth is murdered, and David is made king of all Israel (2 Samuel 4:1—5:4).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.