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So they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.
2 Samuel 3:32 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at Abner’s grave; and all the people wept.
  • KJV And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.
  • BSB When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept.
  • NASB And they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king raised his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.
  • NLT They buried Abner in Hebron, and the king and all the people wept at his graveside.

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

Abner is buried in Hebron, and David weeps aloud at his grave along with all the people. The king's open grief moves the whole nation.

Overview

At Abner's burial, David lifts up his voice in weeping, and the people join him in mourning. The shared lament unites Israel in sorrow and further clears David of suspicion in Abner's death. David's sincere tears reveal a tender conscience and a heart for reconciliation rather than triumph over a fallen rival.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Prov 24:17Don’t rejoice when your enemy falls. Don’t let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;
  • Job 31:28this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have denied the God who is above.
  • 2 Sam 18:33The king was much moved, and went up to the room over the gate, and wept. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!”
  • 1 Sam 30:4Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept until they had no more power to weep.
  • 2 Sam 1:12They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they had fallen by the sword.
  • Luke 19:41–42When he came near, he saw the city and wept over it,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Samuel 3:32YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 3:32 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.