2 Samuel 3:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

NIV: When Abner, who had twenty men with him, came to David at Hebron, David prepared a feast for him and his men.

NASB: Then Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David held a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

CSB: When Abner and twenty men came to David at Hebron, David held a banquet for him and his men.

NLT: When Abner and twenty of his men came to Hebron, David entertained them with a great feast.

KJV: So Abner came to David to Hebron, and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a feast.

NKJV: So Abner and twenty men with him came to David at Hebron. And David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.

Second Samuel 3:20–25 reveals the fickleness of war and politics. Abner, general of the armies of Israel, has been at war with David for two years. But when he arrives with an entourage, David throws him a feast. Abner has grown weary of the puppet-king he installed as David's rival. Abner offers to add the northern and eastern tribes to David's kingdom (2 Samuel 3:6–19). David agrees, and Abner meets with the elders, but David's vengeful general kills Abner before the deal can be completed (2 Samuel 3:26–30).

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.

Accessed 12/3/2025 12:11:30 AM