2 Samuel 3:12

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

10The Lord promised that David's family would rule as kings instead of Saul's family. He promised that David would be king over all the people of Israel and Judah, from Dan to Beersheba.’ 11Ish-Bosheth was so afraid of Abner that he could not say anything. Then Abner sent men to David with this message: ‘Who should rule this country? If you make an agreement with me, I will help you. I will cause all Israel's people to be faithful to you.’ 13David said, ‘That is good! I will make an agreement with you. But you must do this for me: You must bring Saul's daughter, Michal, with you when you come to visit me. If you do not do that, I will not agree to see you.’ 14Then David sent men to Saul's son, Ish-Bosheth, with this message: ‘Give back to me my wife, Michal. I paid 100 Philistine foreskins to have her as my wife.’

2 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 19:6You seem to love the people who hate you. And you seem to hate the people who love you! You have shown today that your officers and soldiers are not important to you. It seems that you would be happy if Absalom were still alive, and all the rest of us were dead.
• 2 Samuel 20:1There was a wicked man there in Gilgal. His name was Sheba. He was Bicri's son, who belonged to Benjamin's tribe. He made a loud noise with a trumpet and then he shouted, ‘Israelite people, we have nothing to do with Jesse's son, David! We do not belong to his kingdom! So we should all return to our homes.’
• Psalms 62:9People are only as light as a breath! Whoever they are, they are not important. If you try to weigh them, all together, they weigh less than a breath of air.
• Luke 16:5Many people had a debt that they had not paid back to the master. So the servant told those people to come to him. He asked the first man, “How big is your debt to my master?”
• 2 Samuel 3:21Then Abner said to David, ‘Please let me go now to bring all the people of Israel together for my lord the king. Then they will make an agreement with you. Then you will rule over the whole land, as you really want to do.’ So David sent Abner away, with a promise that he would be safe.
• 2 Samuel 5:1All Israel's tribes came to David at Hebron. They said, ‘We all belong to the same family as you do.
• 2 Samuel 19:14Because of this message, all the people of Judah's tribe agreed to serve David as their king. They sent this message to the king: ‘Return to us, together with all your officers.’
• 1 Chronicles 11:1Then all the Israelites came to David at Hebron. They said to him, ‘We all belong to the same family as you do.
• Matthew 21:8Many people in the crowd put their coats down on the road. Other people cut branches down from trees. They put these branches down 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

• Abner
• Conspiracy
• Ish-Bosheth
• Treason

In the dictionaries

• Abner
• David
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Communication
• Ishbosheth
• Sackcloth
• Translate
• Covenant, in the Old Testament

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