Amplified Bible
2 Samuel 3:12
12Then Abner sent messengers to David [who was] in his place [at Hebron], saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant (treaty) with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.”
2 Samuel 3:12 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee.
- New International Version (NIV)Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to say to David, “Whose land is it? Make an agreement with me, and I will help you bring all Israel over to you.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring over all Israel to you."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then Abner sent messengers on his behalf to David, saying, “Whose is the land?” saying also, “Make your covenant with me, and indeed my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel to you.”
Context of 2 Samuel 3:12
10to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and establish the throne of David over Israel and Judah from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south].” 11And Ish-bosheth could not say another word to Abner, because he was afraid of him. Then Abner sent messengers to David [who was] in his place [at Hebron], saying, “Whose is the land? Make your covenant (treaty) with me, and behold, my hand shall be with you to bring all Israel over to you.” 13David said, “Good! I will make a covenant (treaty) with you, but I require one thing of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.” 14So David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth, Saul’s son, saying, “Give me my wife Michal, to whom I was betrothed for [the price of] a hundred foreskins of the Philistines.”
Read all of 2 Samuel 32 Samuel 3:12 word by word
וַיִּשְׁלַח֩ אַבְנֵ֨ר מַלְאָכִ֧ים׀ אֶל־דָּוִ֛ד תַּחְתָּ֥יו לֵאמֹ֖ר לְמִי־אָ֑רֶץ לֵאמֹ֗ר כָּרְתָ֤ה בְרִֽיתְךָ֙ אִתִּ֔י וְהִנֵּה֙ יָדִ֣י עִמָּ֔ךְ לְהָסֵ֥ב אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֶת־כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Abnerאֲבִינֵר'abnêr 'ăbîynêr · AbnerH74
- sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
- messengersמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messengerH4397
- to Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
- on his behalf, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- Makeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
- thy leagueבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
- with me, and, behold, my handיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
- with thee, to bring aboutסָבַבsâbab · to turn: turnH5437
- all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 3:12
- 2 Samuel 19:6For you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have shown today that commanders and servants are nothing to you; for today I know that if Absalom had lived and all the rest of us had died today, then you would be pleased.
- 2 Samuel 20:1There happened to be there a worthless and wicked man named Sheba the son of Bichri, a Benjamite. He blew a trumpet [to call Israel to revolt] and said, “We have no portion in David And no inheritance in the son of Jesse, Every man to his tents, O Israel!”
- Psalms 62:9Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion). In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value]; They are together lighter than a breath.
- Luke 16:5So he summoned his master’s debtors one by one, and he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
- 2 Samuel 3:21Abner said to David, “Let me stand up and go, and gather all Israel to my lord the king, so that they may make a covenant (treaty) with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires.” So David sent Abner away, and he went in peace.
- 2 Samuel 5:1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- 2 Samuel 19:14In this way he changed the hearts of all the men of Judah as one man, so they sent word to the king, “Return, you and all your servants.”
- 1 Chronicles 11:1Then all Israel gathered to David at Hebron, saying, “Behold, we are your bone and your flesh.
- Matthew 21:8Most of the crowd spread their coats on the road [as before a king], while others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them on the road.
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 3:12
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Whose is the land? - Meaning, Is not the land thine by God‘s promise?Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-21Verses 7-21 Many, like Abner, are not above committing base crimes, who are too proud to bear reproof, or even the suspicion of being guilty. While men go on in sin, and apparently without concern, they are often conscious that they are fighting against God. Many mean to serve their own purposes; and will betray those who trust them, when they can get any advantage. Yet the Lord serves his own designs, even by those who are thus actuated by revenge…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12In the proposed solemn pact (or covenant), Abner acknowledged that David would become king. Abner may have hoped to serve as David’s chief leader under him (that is, second in authority).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1312-13. Abner sent messengers to David--Though his language implied a secret conviction, that in supporting Ish-bosheth he had been laboring to frustrate the divine purpose of conferring the sovereignty of the kingdom on David, this acknowledgment was no justification either of the measure he was now adopting, or of the motives that prompted it. Nor does it seem possible to uphold the full integrity and honor of David's conduct in entertaining his secret…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 3:12
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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