2 Samuel 3:34 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Your hands were not bound; your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." And all the people wept again over him.

NIV: Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before the wicked." And all the people wept over him again.

NASB: Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in bronze shackles; As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.' And all the people wept over him again.

CSB: Your hands were not bound, your feet not placed in bronze shackles. You fell like one who falls victim to criminals. And all the people wept over him even more.

NLT: Your hands were not bound; your feet were not chained. No, you were murdered — the victim of a wicked plot.' All the people wept again for Abner.

KJV: Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him.

NKJV: Your hands were not bound Nor your feet put into fetters; As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell.” Then all the people wept over him again.

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 11/4/2025 3:40:56 PM