2 Samuel 3:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and mourn before Abner." And King David followed the bier.

NIV: Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, "Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner." King David himself walked behind the bier.

NASB: Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, 'Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.' And King David walked behind the bier.

CSB: David then ordered Joab and all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." And King David walked behind the coffin.

NLT: Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, 'Tear your clothes and put on burlap. Mourn for Abner.' And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave.

KJV: And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier.

NKJV: Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, gird yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” And King David followed the coffin.

In 2 Samuel 3:31—39, Abner ends the war but loses his life. For two years, David, king of Judah, has been at war with Ish-bosheth, king of the northern and western tribes. David grows stronger while Ish-bosheth declines (2 Samuel 2). General Abner, the power behind the crown, grows tired of Ish-bosheth and convinces Israel to follow David. Although he's killed, his plan works. Once Ish-bosheth is assassinated, all Israel will be subject to David's throne (2 Samuel 4:1—5:5).

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.