Passage

2 Samuel 18.5

Book: 2 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"3. But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city. 4. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate-side, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands."

"5. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom."

"6. So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. 7. And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men." (2 Samuel 18:3-7, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"3. But the people said, “You shall not go out; for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore now it is better that you are ready to help us out of the city.” 4. The king said to them, “I will do what seems best to you.” The king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands."

"5. The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom.” All the people heard when the king commanded all the captains concerning Absalom."

"6. So the people went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. 7. The people of Israel were struck there before David’s servants, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men." (2 Samuel 18:3-7, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"3. But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city. ^{care: Heb. set their heart on us} ^{worth: Heb. as ten thousand of us} ^{succour: Heb. be to succour or help} 4. And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands."

"5. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom."

"6. So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; 7. Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men." (2 Samuel 18:3-7, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"3. And the people say, 'Thou dost not go out, for if we utterly flee, they do not set [their] heart upon us; and if half of us die, they do not set [their] heart unto us, for now like us [are] ten thousand; and now, better that thou be to us from the city for an helper.' 4. And the king saith unto them, 'That which is good in your eyes I do;' and the king standeth at the side of the gate, and all the people have gone out by hundreds and by thousands,"

"5. and the king chargeth Joab, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, 'Gently, for me, for the youth, for Absalom;' and all the people heard in the king's charging all the heads concerning Absalom."

"6. And the people goeth out into the field to meet Israel, and the battle is in a forest of Ephraim; 7. and smitten there are the people of Israel before the servants of David, and the smiting there is great on that day, twenty thousand;" (2 Samuel 18:3-7, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD

Quoted in

Bears Mauling Youth Objection

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.