2 Samuel 20:4

2 Samuel 20:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.
• New International Version (NIV)Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the king said to Amasa, "Call the men of Judah together to me within three days, and be here yourself."
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the king said to Amasa, “Assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.”

Context of 2 Samuel 20:4

2So all the men of Israel withdrew from following David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the men of Judah kept close to their king from the Jordan to Jerusalem. 3Now when David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, the king took the ten women, the concubines whom he had left to take care of the palace, and put them in a guarded house. He provided for them but he did not cohabit with them. So they were confined until the day they died, living in widowhood. Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon to me the men of Judah within three days and be here yourself.” 5So Amasa went to summon Judah but he took longer than the set time that he had allotted him. 6Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. So take your lord’s servants and pursue him lest he find for himself fortified cities and escape from our sight.”

2 Samuel 20:4 word by word

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ אֶל־עֲמָשָׂ֔א הַזְעֶק־לִ֥י אֶת־אִישׁ־יְהוּדָ֖ה שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וְאַתָּ֖ה פֹּ֥ה עֲמֹֽד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• to Amasaעֲמָשָׂא‛ămâώâ' · AmasaH6021
• Assembleזָעַקzâ‛aq · to cry outH2199
• me the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• of Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• within threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and be thou here presentעָמַד‛âmad · to stand: standH5975

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 20:4

• 2 Samuel 17:25Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. (Now Amasa was son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who had gone to Abigal daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.)
• 2 Samuel 19:13‘You are my kinsmen, my bone and my flesh! Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’
• 1 Chronicles 2:17Abigail bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmaelite.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 20:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Then said the king to Amasa - Thus he invests him with the command of the army, and sends him to collect the men of Judah, and to come back to receive his orders in relation to Sheba, in three days. It appears that Amasa found more difficulty in collecting his country-men than was at first supposed; and this detaining him beyond the three days, David, fearing that Sheba's rebellion would get head, sent Abishai, who it appears was accompanied by Joab, to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4To Amasa … - Evidently feeling his way toward fulfilling the promise to Amasa (marginal reference).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-13Verses 4-13 Joab barbarously murdered Amasa. The more plot there is in a sin, the worse it is. Joab contentedly sacrificed the interest both of the king and the kingdom to his personal revenge. But one would wonder with what face a murderer could pursue a traitor; and how, under such a load of guilt, he had courage to enter upon danger: his conscience was seared.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5The king made Amasa the new commander of the armies, replacing Joab (2 Samuel 19:13–14). David expected Amasa to be as efficient and effective as Joab.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days--Amasa is now installed in the command which David had promised him. The revolt of the ten tribes, probably, hastened the public declaration of this appointment, which he hoped would be popular with them, and Amasa was ordered within three days to levy a force from Judah sufficient to put down the insurrection. The appointment was a blunder, and the king soon perceived his…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 20:4

• Abishai
• David
• Muster

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Amasa
• Heed
• Joab
• Sheba
• Wont
• Bible, the
• David

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 20

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary