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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- 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
Common English Bible
31 Then David ordered Joab and all the troops who were with him, “Tear your clothes and put on funeral clothes! Mourn for Abner!” King David himself walked behind the body. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron. The king wept loudly at Abner’s grave. All the troops cried too. 33 Then the king sang this funeral song[a] for Abner:
“Should Abner have died like a fool dies?
34 Your hands weren’t bound,
your feet weren’t chained,
but you have fallen
like someone falls before the wicked.”
Then the troops cried over Abner again.
35 Then all the soldiers came to urge David to eat something while it was still day, but David swore, “May God deal harshly with me and worse still if I eat bread or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 All the troops took notice of this and were pleased by it. Indeed, everything that the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the troops and all Israel knew that it wasn’t the king’s idea to kill Abner, Ner’s son.
38 The king told his soldiers, “Don’t you know that a prince and a great man in Israel has fallen today? 39 And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak. These men, Zeruiah’s sons, are too strong for me.[b] May the Lord repay the one who does evil according to the evil they did!”
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- 2 Samuel 3:33 Or lament
- 2 Samuel 3:39 Or more ruthless than me; DSS (4QSama) lacks this clause.
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