Passage

2 Samuel 2.25

Book: 2 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"23. Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. 24. But Joab and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon."

"25. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill."

"26. Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? 27. And Joab said, As God liveth, if thou hadst not spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone away, nor followed every one his brother." (2 Samuel 2:23-27, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"23. However he refused to turn aside. Therefore Abner with the back end of the spear struck him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place. As many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. 24. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon."

"25. The children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill."

"26. Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Don’t you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to return from following their brothers?” 27. Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone away, and not each followed his brother.”" (2 Samuel 2:23-27, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"23. Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. 24. Joab also and Abishai pursued after Abner: and the sun went down when they were come to the hill of Ammah, that lieth before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon."

"25. And the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one troop, and stood on the top of an hill."

"26. Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? 27. And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother. ^{in the: Heb. from the morning} ^{gone: or, gone away}" (2 Samuel 2:23-27, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"23. And he refuseth to turn aside, and Abner smiteth him with the hinder part of the spear unto the fifth [rib], and the spear cometh out from behind him, and he falleth there, and dieth under it; and it cometh to pass, every one who hath come unto the place where Asahel hath fallen and dieth, they stand still. 24. And Joab and Abishai pursue after Abner, and the sun hath gone in, and they have come in unto the height of Ammah, which [is] on the front of Giah, the way of the wilderness of Gibeon."

"25. And the sons of Benjamin gather themselves together after Abner, and become one troop, and stand on the top of a certain height,"

"26. and Abner calleth unto Joab, and saith, 'For ever doth the sword consume? hast thou not known that it is bitterness in the latter end? and till when dost thou not say to the people to turn back from after their brethren?' 27. And Joab saith, 'God liveth! for unless thou hadst spoken, surely then from the morning had the people gone up each from after his brother.'" (2 Samuel 2:23-27, 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

H0259 - echad

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.