2 Samuel 3:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They buried Abner at Hebron. And the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

NIV: They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also.

NASB: And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

CSB: When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept,

NLT: They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside.

KJV: And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.

NKJV: So they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.

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.

Accessed 12/14/2025 11:08:00 AM