New International Version
2 Samuel 3:33
33The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die?
2 Samuel 3:33 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies?
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner: “Should Abner have died as fools die?
Context of 2 Samuel 3:33
31Then David said to Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes and put on sackcloth and walk in mourning in front of Abner.” King David himself walked behind the bier. 32They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb. All the people wept also. The king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner have died as the lawless die? 34Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. You fell as one falls before the wicked.” And all the people wept over him again. 35Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
Read all of 2 Samuel 32 Samuel 3:33 word by word
וַיְקֹנֵ֥ן הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־אַבְנֵ֖ר וַיֹּאמַ֑ר הַכְּמ֥וֹת נָבָ֖ל יָמ֥וּת אַבְנֵֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 3:33
- 2 Samuel 13:12“No, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me! Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing.
- Proverbs 18:7The mouths of fools are their undoing, and their lips are a snare to their very lives.
- Ecclesiastes 2:15Then I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” I said to myself, “This too is meaningless.”
- Jeremiah 17:11Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay are those who gain riches by unjust means. When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them, and in the end they will prove to be fools.
- Luke 12:19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 3:33
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 33The king lamented over Abner - This lamentation, though short, is very pathetic. It is a high strain of poetry; but the measure cannot be easily ascertained. Our own translation may be measured thus: - Died Abner as a fool dieth? Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters. As a man falleth before the wicked. So hast thou fallen! Or thus: - Shall Abner die a death like to a villain's? Thy hands not bound, Nor were the fetters to thy feet…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 33Lamented - i. e. composed and sang the funeral dirge which follows (compare 2 Samuel 1:17). Died Abner - i. e. The great and noble and valiant Abner had died as ignobly and as helplessly as the meanest churl!Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-39Verses 22-39 Judgments are prepared for such scorners as Abner; but Joab, in what he did, acted wickedly. David laid Abner's murder deeply to heart, and in many ways expressed his detestation of it. The guilt of blood brings a curse upon families: if men do not avenge it, God will. It is a sad thing to die like a fool, as they do that any way shorten their own days, and those who make no provision for another world. Who would be fond of power, when a man…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 33die the death of a fool: Joab deceived Abner by pretending to be his friend. He was actually an enemy (see 2 Samuel 3:27).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33-3433-34. the king lamented over Abner--This brief elegy is an effusion of indignation as much as of sorrow. As Abner had stabbed Asahel in open war [2Sa 2:23], Joab had not the right of the Goel. Besides, he had adopted a lawless and execrable method of obtaining satisfaction (see on 1Ki 2:5). The deed was an insult to the authority, as well as most damaging to the prospects of the king. But David's feelings and conduct on hearing of the death, together…Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 3:33
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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