Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD.
Parallel translations
- WEB So their blood will return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his offspring forever. But for David, for his offspring, for his house, and for his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh.”
- BSB Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
- NKJV Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab and upon the head of his descendants forever. But upon David and his descendants, upon his house and his throne, there shall be peace forever from the Lord.”
- NASB So their blood shall return on the head of Joab and on the head of his descendants forever; but for David and his descendants, and his house and his throne, may there be peace from the Lord forever.”
- NLT May their blood be on Joab and his descendants forever, and may the Lord grant peace forever to David, his descendants, his dynasty, and his throne.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joab's bloodguilt rests on him and his descendants, while David's house receives lasting peace from Yahweh. The contrast sets the guilty against the covenant blessing on David's line.
Overview
Solomon pronounces enduring consequence on Joab's offspring but everlasting peace upon David's throne, grounded in the LORD's covenant. The promise of peace 'forever from Yahweh' reaches beyond Solomon to the greater Son of David, the Prince of Peace whose reign has no end. Judgment on sin and blessing on the covenant line stand side by side.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 27:25Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
- 1 Kgs 2:32And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
- Isa 9:6–7For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
- Prov 25:5Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.
- Ps 109:6–15Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.
- Ps 132:12If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
- Ps 89:36–37His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.
- 2 Kgs 5:27The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
- Ps 89:29His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.
- Isa 11:1–9And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
- Luke 2:14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
- 2 Sam 3:28–29And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the LORD for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
- Ps 101:8I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the LORD.
- Luke 1:31–33And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 2:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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