New English Translation
2 Samuel 4:11
11Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?”
2 Samuel 4:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
- New International Version (NIV)How much more—when wicked men have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed—should I not now demand his blood from your hand and rid the earth of you!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous person in his own house on his bed? Therefore, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and remove you from the earth?”
Context of 2 Samuel 4:11
9David replied to Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered my life from all adversity, 10when someone told me that Saul was dead – even though he thought he was bringing good news – I seized him and killed him in Ziklag. That was the good news I gave to him! Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth?” 12So David issued orders to the soldiers and they put them to death. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung them near the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
Read all of 2 Samuel 42 Samuel 4:11 word by word
אַ֞ף כִּֽי־אֲנָשִׁ֣ים רְשָׁעִ֗ים הָרְג֧וּ אֶת־אִישׁ־צַדִּ֛יק בְּבֵית֖וֹ עַל־מִשְׁכָּב֑וֹ וְעַתָּ֗ה הֲל֨וֹא אֲבַקֵּ֤שׁ אֶת־דָּמוֹ֙ מִיֶּדְכֶ֔ם וּבִעַרְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- How much more, when wickedרָשָׁעrâshâ‛ · wickedH7563
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- have slainהָרַגhârag · to killH2026
- a righteousצַדִּיקtsaddîyq · righteousH6662
- personאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- in his own houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
- upon his bedמִשְׁכָּבmishkâb · bedH4904
- shall I not therefore now requireבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- his bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
- of your handיָדyâd · handH3027
- and take you awayבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: destroyH1197
- from the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 4:11
- 1 Kings 2:32May the Lord punish him for the blood he shed; behind my father David’s back he struck down and murdered with the sword two men who were more innocent and morally upright than he – Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army.
- Proverbs 25:26Like a muddied spring and a polluted well, so is a righteous person who gives way before the wicked.
- Habakkuk 1:4For this reason the law lacks power, and justice is never carried out. Indeed, the wicked intimidate the innocent. For this reason justice is perverted.
- 1 John 3:12not like Cain who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.
- 2 Samuel 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate as if to speak privately with him. Joab then stabbed him in the abdomen and killed him, avenging the shed blood of his brother Asahel.
- Genesis 9:5For your lifeblood I will surely exact punishment, from every living creature I will exact punishment. From each person I will exact punishment for the life of the individual since the man was his relative.
- Exodus 21:12“Whoever strikes someone so that he dies must surely be put to death.
- Numbers 35:31Moreover, you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; he must surely be put to death.
- Psalms 9:12For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; he did not overlook their cry for help
- Genesis 4:11So now, you are banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
- Genesis 6:13So God said to Noah, “I have decided that all living creatures must die, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. Now I am about to destroy them and the earth.
- Genesis 7:23So the Lord destroyed every living thing that was on the surface of the ground, including people, animals, creatures that creep along the ground, and birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those who were with him in the ark survived.
- Exodus 9:15For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth.
- Psalms 109:15May the Lord be constantly aware of them, and cut off the memory of his children from the earth!
- Proverbs 2:22but the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be torn away from it.
- Jeremiah 10:11You people of Israel should tell those nations this: ‘These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.’
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 4:11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11How much more - Here are several things which aggravated the guilt of those wicked men. Ish-bosheth was an innocent man, and therefore none could have any ground of quarrel against him. He was in his own house, which was his sanctuary, and none but the worst of men would disturb him there. 3. He was upon his bed, resting in the heat of the day, and so free from suspicion that he was not even attended by his guards, nor had he his doors secured. To take…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-12Verses 8-12 A person may be glad to obtain his just wishes, and yet really regret the means by which he receives them. He may be sorry for the death of a person by which he is a gainer. These men shed innocent blood, from the basest motives. David justly executed vengeance upon them. He would not be beholden to any to help him by unlawful practices. God had helped him over many a difficulty, and through many a danger, therefore he depended upon him to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9-11when someone told me: Compare 2 Samuel 1:1–16.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 4:11
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 4
- 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
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Commentaries