2 Samuel 3

ARC · Chapter 3/24

1E houve uma longa guerra entre a casa de Saul e a casa de David: porém David se ia fortalecendo, mas os da casa de Saul se iam enfraquecendo.

2E a David nasceram filhos em Hebron: e foi o seu primogenito Amnon, de Achinoam a jizreelita;

3E seu segundo Chileab, de Abigail, mulher de Nabal, o carmelita; e o terceiro Absalão, filho de Maaka, filha de Talmai, rei de Gesur;

4E o quarto Adonias, filho d'Haggith; e o quinto Sephatias, filho d'Abital;

5E o sexto Jithream, d'Egla, tambem mulher de David: estes nasceram a David em Hebron.

6E, havendo guerra entre a casa de Saul, e a casa de David, succedeu que Abner se esforçava na casa de Saul.

7E tinha tido Saul uma concubina, cujo nome era Rispa, filha de Aia: e disse Isboseth a Abner: Porque entraste á concubina de meu pae?

8Então se irou muito Abner pelas palavras de Isboseth, e disse: Sou eu cabeça de cão, que pertença a Judah? ainda hoje faço beneficencia á casa de Saul, teu pae, a seus irmãos, e a seus amigos, e te não entreguei nas mãos de David, e tu hoje buscas motivo para me arguires por respeito da maldade d'uma mulher.

9Assim faça Deus a Abner, e outro tanto, que como o Senhor jurou a David assim lhe hei de fazer,

10Transferindo o reino da casa de Saul, e levantando o throno de David sobre Israel, e sobre Judah, desde Dan até Berseba.

11E nem ainda uma palavra podia responder a Abner: porque o temia.

12Então ordenou Abner da sua parte mensageiros a David, dizendo: De quem é a terra? E disse: Comigo faze a tua alliança, e eis que a minha mão será comtigo, para tornar a ti todo o Israel.

13E disse David: Bem, eu farei comtigo alliança, porém uma coisa te peço, que é: não verás a minha face, se primeiro me não trouxeres a Michal, filha de Saul, quando vieres ver a minha face.

14Tambem enviou David mensageiros a Isboseth, filho de Saul, dizendo: Dá-me minha mulher Michal, que eu desposei comigo por cem prepucios de philisteos.

15E enviou Isboseth, e a tirou a seu marido, a Phaltiel, filho de Lais.

16E ia com ella seu marido, caminhando, e chorando detraz d'ella, até Baurim. Então lhe disse Abner: Vae-te agora, volta. E elle voltou.

17E praticava Abner com os anciãos de Israel, dizendo: Muito tempo ha que procuraveis que David reinasse sobre vós;

18Fazei-o pois agora, porque o Senhor fallou a David, dizendo: Pela mão de David meu servo livrarei o meu povo das mãos dos philisteos e das mãos de todos os seus inimigos.

19E fallou tambem Abner o mesmo aos ouvidos de Benjamin: e foi tambem Abner dizer aos ouvidos de David, em Hebron, tudo o que era bom aos olhos de Israel e aos olhos de toda a casa de Benjamin.

20E veiu Abner a David, a Hebron, e vinte homens com elle: e David fez um banquete a Abner e aos homens que com elle vinham.

21Então disse Abner a David: Eu me levantarei, e irei, e ajuntarei ao rei meu senhor todo o Israel, para fazerem alliança comtigo; e tu reinarás sobre tudo o que desejar a tua alma. Assim despediu David a Abner, e foi-se elle em paz.

22E eis que os servos de David e Joab vieram d'uma sortida, e traziam comsigo grande despojo; e já Abner não estava com David em Hebron, porque o tinha despedido, e se tinha ido em paz.

23Chegando pois Joab, e todo o exercito que vinha com elle, deram aviso a Joab, dizendo: Abner, filho de Ner, veiu ao rei, e o despediu, e foi-se em paz.

24Então Joab entrou ao rei, e disse: Que fizeste? eis que Abner veiu ter comtigo; porque pois o despediste, de maneira que se fosse assim livremente?

25Bem conheces a Abner, filho de Ner, que te veiu enganar, e saber a tua saida e a tua entrada, e entender tudo quanto fazes.

26E Joab, retirando-se de David, enviou mensageiros atraz d'Abner, e o fizeram voltar desde o poço de Sira, sem que David o soubesse.

27Tornando pois Abner a Hebron, Joab o tirou á parte, á entrada da porta, para lhe fallar em segredo: e feriu-o ali pela quinta costella, e morreu, por causa do sangue de Asael seu irmão.

28O que David depois ouvindo, disse: Innocente sou eu, e o meu reino, para com o Senhor, para sempre, do sangue d'Abner, filho de Ner.

29Fique-se sobre a cabeça de Joab e sobre toda a casa de seu pae, e nunca da casa de Joab falte quem tenha fluxo, nem quem seja leproso, nem quem se atenha a bordão, nem quem caia á espada, nem quem necessite de pão.

30Joab pois e Abisai, seu irmão, mataram a Abner, por ter morto a Asael, seu irmão, na peleja em Gibeon.

31Disse pois David a Joab, e a todo o povo que com elle estava: Rasgae os vossos vestidos; e cingi-vos de saccos e ide pranteando diante de Abner. E o rei David ia seguindo o feretro.

32E, sepultando a Abner em Hebron, o rei levantou a sua voz, e chorou junto da sepultura de Abner; e chorou todo o povo.

33E o rei, pranteando a Abner, disse: Não morreu Abner como morre o vilão?

34As tuas mãos não estavam atadas, nem os teus pés carregados de grilhões de bronze, mas caiste como os que caem diante dos filhos da maldade! Então todo o povo chorou muito mais por elle

35Então todo o povo veiu fazer que David comesse pão, sendo ainda dia, porém David jurou, dizendo: Assim Deus me faça, e outro tanto, se, antes que o sol se ponha, eu provar pão ou alguma coisa.

36O que todo o povo entendendo, pareceu bem aos seus olhos, assim como tudo quanto o rei fez pareceu bem aos olhos de todo o povo.

37E todo o povo e todo o Israel entenderam n'aquelle mesmo dia que não procedera do rei que matassem a Abner, filho de Ner.

38Então disse o rei aos seus servos: Não sabeis que hoje caiu em Israel um principe e um grande?

39Que eu ainda sou tenro, ainda que ungido rei; estes homens, filhos de Zeruia, são mais duros do que eu: o Senhor pagará ao malfeitor, conforme a sua maldade.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The war between the two houses drags on, with David growing ever stronger. Abner breaks with Ish-bosheth and negotiates to go over to David's side, but is treacherously killed by Joab, avenging the death of his brother Asahel.

Explanation

This chapter shows the political complexity of unifying the kingdom: alliances fall apart, loyalties shift over wounded pride (the accusation regarding Saul's concubine) and political interest. David publicly mourns Abner's death and distances himself from Joab's crime, showing that he does not endorse violence committed in his name. This reinforces an important principle: even strong leaders do not fully control the actions of those around them, but they can and should publicly take a stand against injustice.

Fun facts

  • Among the sons of David listed here is Absalom, whose mother Maacah was the daughter of the king of Geshur — a political alliance through marriage that was common at the time.
  • David's public mourning for Abner, including fasting, was a way of clearing his reputation before the people, showing that he had no part in Joab's betrayal.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Samuel 3:1A long war follows between the house of Saul and the house of David; over time David grows stronger while Saul’s side grows weaker.
  2. 2 Samuel 3:2David’s first son, Amnon, is born in Hebron to his wife Ahinoam the Jezreelitess.
  3. 2 Samuel 3:3Also born are Chileab, son of Abigail, and Absalom, son of Maacah, daughter of the king of Geshur—Absalom will become central to the story later on.
  4. 2 Samuel 3:4Also born are Adonijah, son of Haggith, and Shephatiah, son of Abital, two more of David’s sons in Hebron.
  5. 2 Samuel 3:5The sixth son, Ithream, is born to Eglah, another of David’s wives—the list shows how David already had several sons by different mothers.
  6. 2 Samuel 3:6During the war between the two royal houses, Abner keeps growing stronger and more influential within the house of Saul.
  7. 2 Samuel 3:7Accusing Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, is more than jealousy: in ancient politics, taking a dead king’s concubines was a way of laying claim to his throne—which is why Ish-bosheth reacts with such political, not just personal, fear.
  8. 2 Samuel 3:8Abner is offended by Ish-bosheth’s accusation and answers angrily, listing all the loyalty he had shown the house of Saul even though he could have handed everything over to David.
  9. 2 Samuel 3:9Abner swears, with a formal oath invoking God Himself, that he will carry out what the LORD had promised David.
  10. 2 Samuel 3:10Abner promises to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul to David, establishing his throne over all Israel and Judah, from one end of the territory to the other.
  11. 2 Samuel 3:11Ish-bosheth cannot answer Abner a word, because he is afraid of him—showing that Abner, not the king, was the one really in charge.
  12. 2 Samuel 3:12Abner sends messengers to David proposing an alliance, offering to bring all Israel over to his side.
  13. 2 Samuel 3:13David accepts the alliance, but sets one condition: he will only receive Abner if he first brings back Michal, Saul’s daughter, who had been his wife.
  14. 2 Samuel 3:14David also formally demands that Ish-bosheth return Michal, reminding him that he won her by paying the price of a hundred Philistine foreskins.
  15. 2 Samuel 3:15Ish-bosheth sends for Michal and takes her from her husband, Paltiel son of Laish.
  16. 2 Samuel 3:16Paltiel walking behind Michal weeping as she is taken back to David shows the human side of a marriage undone by political decision—the law gave David the right to reclaim the wife Saul had forcibly taken from him, but the text does not hide the pain of the one who loses her.
  17. 2 Samuel 3:17Abner speaks with the elders of Israel, reminding them that they had already wanted David as king for some time.
  18. 2 Samuel 3:18Abner urges them to act now, citing the LORD’s promise that through David He would save His people from the hand of the Philistines and all their enemies.
  19. 2 Samuel 3:19Abner says the same to Benjamin, then goes in person to Hebron to tell David everything that seemed good to Israel and to Benjamin.
  20. 2 Samuel 3:20Abner arrives in Hebron with twenty men, and David holds a feast to welcome him and those who came with him.
  21. 2 Samuel 3:21Abner promises to gather all Israel to make a covenant with David, and David sends him away in peace, confident in the agreement.
  22. 2 Samuel 3:22David’s men and Joab return from a raid with much plunder, not knowing that Abner had just left Hebron in peace.
  23. 2 Samuel 3:23Joab is told that Abner had come to see the king and had been sent away in peace, with nothing bad happening.
  24. 2 Samuel 3:24Joab goes straight to the king to complain: why did David let Abner leave freely, without holding him back?
  25. 2 Samuel 3:25Joab accuses Abner of having come only to spy out David’s movements, without any real good intentions.
  26. 2 Samuel 3:26Without David’s knowledge, Joab sends messengers after Abner and brings him back from the well of Sirah.
  27. 2 Samuel 3:27Back in Hebron, Joab takes Abner aside, as if to speak with him privately, and kills him to avenge the death of his brother Asahel.
  28. 2 Samuel 3:28On hearing of Abner’s death, David declares publicly that neither he nor his kingdom bears any guilt for this bloodshed.
  29. 2 Samuel 3:29David’s curse on the house of Joab lists specific diseases and misfortunes—discharge, leprosy, lameness, death by the sword, hunger—the kind of catalog of plagues used in formal curses across the ancient Near East to underscore the weight of what was being invoked.
  30. 2 Samuel 3:30The text makes the motive for the murder clear: Joab and Abishai killed Abner in revenge for the death of their brother Asahel in the battle of Gibeon.
  31. 2 Samuel 3:31David orders Joab and all the people to tear their clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner’s body, while the king himself walks behind the bier.
  32. 2 Samuel 3:32At Abner’s burial in Hebron, the king weeps openly at the grave, and all the people weep with him.
  33. 2 Samuel 3:33David sings a lament for Abner, asking why he had to die as a despised villain dies.
  34. 2 Samuel 3:34The lament recalls that Abner’s hands were not bound nor his feet put in fetters when he fell, treating his death as unjust—and this makes the people weep even more.
  35. 2 Samuel 3:35The people try to persuade David to eat while it is still day, but he swears publicly that he will taste nothing before sunset, as a sign of genuine mourning.
  36. 2 Samuel 3:36David’s display of mourning pleases the people, who come to view everything the king does at this moment favorably.
  37. 2 Samuel 3:37All Israel understands that day that Abner’s death had not come from any order of the king, clearing David of any suspicion.
  38. 2 Samuel 3:38David tells his servants that a prince and a great man had fallen in Israel that day, acknowledging the weight of Abner’s loss.
  39. 2 Samuel 3:39David admits he is weak before the sons of Zeruiah, Joab and Abishai, who act more harshly than he would like, and leaves it to the LORD to repay them for the evil they have done.

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