I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king
Parallel translations
- WEB I will come on him while he is weary and exhausted, and will make him afraid. All the people who are with him will flee. I will strike the king only,
- KJV And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
- NKJV I will come upon him while he is weary and weak, and make him afraid. And all the people who are with him will flee, and I will strike only the king.
- NASB And I will attack him while he is weary and exhausted and startle him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike and kill the king when he is alone,
- NLT I will catch up with him while he is weary and discouraged. He and his troops will panic, and everyone will run away. Then I will kill only the king,
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
Ahithophel plans to strike David while he is weary and demoralized, scattering his men by killing the king alone. The aim is a surgical blow that ends the war at once.
Overview
By focusing on David personally and exploiting his exhaustion, Ahithophel seeks to avoid wider bloodshed and secure a quick victory. The counsel reveals shrewd understanding of how a leader's fall collapses an army. Yet God's protection over His anointed will prove that the king's life is not Ahithophel's to take, pointing ahead to the King whose life no enemy could seize until His appointed hour.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 22:31Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
- 2 Sam 16:14Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
- Matt 26:31Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
- Zech 13:7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
- John 11:50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
- Matt 21:38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’
- Deut 25:18how they met you on your journey when you were tired and weary, and they attacked all your stragglers; they had no fear of God.
- John 18:4–8Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 17:2 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.