2 Samuel 3:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Joab came out from David 's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah. But David did not know about it.

NIV: Joab then left David and sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern at Sirah. But David did not know it.

NASB: When Joab left David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the well of Sirah; but David did not know about it.

CSB: Then Joab left David and sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the well of Sirah, but David was unaware of it.

NLT: Joab then left David and sent messengers to catch up with Abner, asking him to return. They found him at the well of Sirah and brought him back, though David knew nothing about it.

KJV: And when Joab was come out from David, he sent messengers after Abner, which brought him again from the well of Sirah: but David knew it not.

NKJV: And when Joab had gone from David’s presence, he sent messengers after Abner, who brought him back from the well of Sirah. But David did not know it.

In 2 Samuel 3:26–30, Joab avenges his brother Asahel. Two years prior, as Israel fought with Judah, Abner, Israel's army commander, reluctantly killed the brother of Judah's commander in self-defense (2 Samuel 2:19–23). Abner now wants to convince the tribes of Israel to accept David as their king (2 Samuel 3:12–19). But Joab remembers his brother and murders Abner. David must act quickly to keep the deal alive. He disavows Joab's actions and writes a short psalm of lament for Abner (2 Samuel 3:31–39).

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.