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2 Samuel 3:31-39
New American Standard Bible

David Mourns Abner

31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, “(A)Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David walked behind the bier. 32 And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at (B)the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And (C)the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said,

“Should Abner die as a fool dies?
34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in bronze shackles;
As one falls before the [a]wicked, you have fallen.”

And all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came (D)to provide [b]food for David in his distress while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “(E)May God do so to me, and more so, if I taste bread or anything else (F)before the sun goes down.” 36 Now all the people took note of David’s vow, and it [c]pleased them, just as everything that the king did [d]pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood on that day that it had not been the desire of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a leader and a great man has fallen in Israel this day? 39 And I am (G)weak today, though anointed king; and these men, (H)the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. (I)May the Lord repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 3:34 Lit sons of wickedness
  2. 2 Samuel 3:35 Lit bread
  3. 2 Samuel 3:36 Lit was good in their eyes
  4. 2 Samuel 3:36 Lit was good in the eyes of all
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2 Samuel 3:31-39
New English Translation

31 David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes. Put on sackcloth. Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed[a] behind the funeral pallet.[b] 32 So they buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly[c] over Abner’s grave, and all the people wept too. 33 The king chanted the following lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died like a fool?
34 Your hands[d] were not bound,
and your feet were not put into irons.
You fell the way one falls before criminals.”

All the people[e] wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely[f] if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

36 All the people noticed this and it pleased them.[g] In fact, everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 All the people and all Israel realized on that day that the killing of Abner son of Ner was not done at the king’s instigation.[h]

38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not realize that a great leader[i] has fallen this day in Israel? 39 Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear![j] May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!”[k]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 3:31 tn Heb “was walking.”
  2. 2 Samuel 3:31 tn A ‫מִטָּה‬ (mittah) is typically bed with a frame (which can be ornate and covered with blankets and pillows). Here, like a stretcher, it is a portable frame for carrying a body, technically a bier.
  3. 2 Samuel 3:32 tn Heb “lifted up his voice and wept.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
  4. 2 Samuel 3:34 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions in reading “your hands,” rather than “your hand.”
  5. 2 Samuel 3:34 tc 4QSama lacks the words “all the people.”
  6. 2 Samuel 3:35 tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”
  7. 2 Samuel 3:36 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
  8. 2 Samuel 3:37 tn Heb “from the king.”
  9. 2 Samuel 3:38 tn Heb “a leader and a great one.” The expression is a hendiadys.
  10. 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “are hard from me.”
  11. 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “May the Lord repay the doer of the evil according to his evil” (NASB similar).
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