New Living Translation
2 Samuel 4:11
11How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?”
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
9But David said to Recab and Baanah, “The Lord, who saves me from all my enemies, is my witness. 10Someone once told me, ‘Saul is dead,’ thinking he was bringing me good news. But I seized him and killed him at Ziklag. That’s the reward I gave him for his news! How much more should I reward evil men who have killed an innocent man in his own house and on his own bed? Shouldn’t I hold you responsible for his blood and rid the earth of you?” 12So David ordered his young men to kill them, and they did. They cut off their hands and feet and hung their bodies beside the pool in Hebron. Then they took Ishbosheth’s head and buried it in Abner’s tomb 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 2:32The Lord will repay him for the murders of two men who were more righteous and better than he. For my father knew nothing about the deaths of Abner son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and of Amasa son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.
- Proverbs 25:26If the godly give in to the wicked, it’s like polluting a fountain or muddying a spring.
- Habakkuk 1:4The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted.
- 1 John 3:12We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous.
- 2 Samuel 3:27When Abner arrived back at Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gateway as if to speak with him privately. But then he stabbed Abner in the stomach and killed him in revenge for killing his brother Asahel.
- Genesis 9:5“And I will require the blood of anyone who takes another person’s life. If a wild animal kills a person, it must die. And anyone who murders a fellow human must die.
- Exodus 21:12“Anyone who assaults and kills another person must be put to death.
- Numbers 35:31Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death.
- Psalms 9:12For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.
- Genesis 4:11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has swallowed your brother’s blood.
- Genesis 6:13So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!
- Genesis 7:23God wiped out every living thing on the earth—people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat.
- Exodus 9:15By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth.
- Psalms 109:15May the Lord always remember these sins, and may his name disappear from human memory.
- Proverbs 2:22But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.
- Jeremiah 10:11Say this to those who worship other gods: “Your so-called gods, who did not make the heavens and earth, will vanish 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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