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]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 3:31 tn Heb “was walking.”
- 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.
- 2 Samuel 3:32 tn Heb “lifted up his voice and wept.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
- 2 Samuel 3:34 tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew manuscripts and several ancient versions in reading “your hands,” rather than “your hand.”
- 2 Samuel 3:34 tc 4QSama lacks the words “all the people.”
- 2 Samuel 3:35 tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”
- 2 Samuel 3:36 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
- 2 Samuel 3:37 tn Heb “from the king.”
- 2 Samuel 3:38 tn Heb “a leader and a great one.” The expression is a hendiadys.
- 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “are hard from me.”
- 2 Samuel 3:39 tn Heb “May the Lord repay the doer of the evil according to his evil” (NASB similar).
2 Samuel 3:31-39
New Living Translation
David Mourns Abner’s Death
31 Then David said to Joab and all those who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on burlap. Mourn for Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the procession to the grave. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside. 33 Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner:
“Should Abner have died as fools die?
34 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. 35 David had refused to eat anything on the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, “May God strike me and even kill me if I eat anything before sundown.”
36 This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! 37 So everyone in Judah and all Israel understood that David was not responsible for Abner’s murder.
38 Then King David said to his officials, “Don’t you realize that a great commander has fallen today in Israel? 39 And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah—Joab and Abishai—are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
