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:
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,
- BSB 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
- 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 22:31But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.
- 2 Sam 16:14And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.
- Matt 26:31Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
- Zech 13:7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
- John 11:50Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.
- Matt 21:38But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
- Deut 25:18How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
- John 18:4–8Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
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 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.