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

10To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beer–sheba. 11And he could not answer Abner a word again, because he feared him. 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. 13And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face. 14And David sent messengers to Ish–bosheth Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of the Philistines.

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

• 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 19:6In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.
• 2 Samuel 20:1And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.
• Psalms 62:9Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
• Luke 16:5So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
• 2 Samuel 3:21And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thine heart desireth. And David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
• 2 Samuel 5:1Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron, and spake, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
• 2 Samuel 19:14And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
• 1 Chronicles 11:1Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
• Matthew 21:8And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.

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