2 Samuel 3:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: God do so to Abner and more also, if I do not accomplish for David what the Lord has sworn to him,

NIV: May God deal with Abner, be it ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the Lord promised him on oath

NASB: May God do so to me, and more so, if as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him:

CSB: May God punish Abner and do so severely if I don’t do for David what the Lord swore to him:

NLT: May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t do everything I can to help David get what the Lord has promised him!

KJV: So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;

NKJV: May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him—

In 2 Samuel 3:6–11, General Abner makes a move for the crown. He installed Saul's son Ish-bosheth as king over the northern and eastern tribes, but after two years, he's grown tired of his puppet. He sleeps with Saul's concubine Rizpah: a move typically made to demonstrate authority over the woman's husband. Ish-bosheth confronts Abner, and Abner gets so angry he vows to give Ish-bosheth's kingdom to David. He will, but he will give his life to do it (2 Samuel 3:12–30).

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 12/15/2025 4:21:34 PM