2 Samuel 4:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night,

NIV: They had gone into the house while he was lying on the bed in his bedroom. After they stabbed and killed him, they cut off his head. Taking it with them, they traveled all night by way of the Arabah.

NASB: Now when they had come into the house, as he was lying on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and killed him, and they beheaded him. And they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night.

CSB: They had entered the house while Ish-bosheth was lying on his bed in his bedroom and stabbed and killed him. They removed his head, took it, and traveled by way of the Arabah all night.

NLT: They went into the house and found Ishbosheth sleeping on his bed. They struck and killed him and cut off his head. Then, taking his head with them, they fled across the Jordan Valley through the night.

KJV: For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber, and they smote him, and slew him, and beheaded him, and took his head, and gat them away through the plain all night.

NKJV: For when they came into the house, he was lying on his bed in his bedroom; then they struck him and killed him, beheaded him and took his head, and were all night escaping through the plain.

In 2 Samuel 4:5–8, the last obstacle to David's kingship is removed. Shortly before his own murder (2 Samuel 3), Abner, Israel's military leader, betrayed his king, Ish-bosheth. Ish-bosheth is a weak leader and very vulnerable. Two brothers from his own tribe creep into his home during an afternoon rest and assassinate him. They take his head to David, thinking their act will show their loyalty. Instead, David has them executed. David considered Ish-bosheth an innocent man, son of God's anointed king, and worthy of honor (2 Samuel 4:9–12).

In 2 Samuel 4, David again shows loyalty to Saul. Saul's cousin and general, and the man who made Ish-bosheth king of Israel, has been murdered (2 Samuel 3:1–30). Without a strong leader, Israel is in danger. Two Benjaminite brothers kill Ish-bosheth in his bed, cut off his head, and present it to David in Hebron, expecting a reward. David orders the brothers executed for murdering an innocent man. David mourns Ish-bosheth, proving he had nothing to do with the death. In response, the elders of Israel ask him to be their king (2 Samuel 5:1–4).

Second Samuel 4 describes the aftermath of Abner's death. With the powerful man gone, no one remains to defend Israel or protect Saul's son Ish-bosheth. Two Benjaminite brothers kill the king and bring his head to David. David is furious that they've murdered a righteous man and orders their execution. David has mourned the deaths of Saul, Jonathan, Abner, and now Ish-bosheth (2 Samuel 1:17–27; 3:31–34). The elders of Israel honor his loyalty to Saul's house and travel to Hebron to pledge themselves to David. God blesses both David and the nation (2 Samuel 5).

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.