And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?
Parallel translations
- WEB The king lamented for Abner, and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
- KJV And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
- NKJV And the king sang a lament over Abner and said: “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
- NASB And the king sang a song of mourning for Abner and said, “Should Abner die as a fool dies?
- NLT Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner: “Should Abner have died as fools die?
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
David sings a lament asking whether Abner had to die like a fool. He mourns the senseless, undeserved manner of Abner's death.
Overview
David composes a brief elegy, asking whether so capable a man as Abner should die as a fool or villain dies, that is, by treachery rather than honorable battle. The lament dignifies Abner and laments the injustice of his murder. David's poetic mourning, like his earlier lament for Saul and Jonathan, shows his magnanimity and grief over needless bloodshed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Luke 12:19–20Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- 2 Sam 13:12–13“No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
- 2 Sam 1:17Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan,
- 2 Chr 35:25Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the choirs of men and women sing laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.
- Jer 17:11Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
- Prov 18:7A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- Eccl 2:15–16So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
- 2 Sam 13:28–29Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”
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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 3:33 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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