The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out against us in the field, but we pressed them as far as the entrance of the gate.
Parallel translations
- WEB The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us, and came out to us into the field, and we were on them even to the entrance of the gate.
- KJV And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
- BSB The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.
- NKJV And the messenger said to David, “Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate.
- NLT “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate,
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
The messenger describes how the enemy sallied out and the battle reached the city gate. He sets the scene of the costly fighting.
Overview
The report frames the losses as the result of a hard-fought engagement at the gate. The military detail provides cover for the deaths that David arranged. The messenger's words show how the truth is being wrapped in the ordinary language of war.
Cross-references & the web
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Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 11:23 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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