And I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”
Parallel translations
- WEB I am weak today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May Yahweh reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.”
- KJV And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
- NKJV And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too harsh for me. The Lord shall repay the evildoer according to his wickedness.”
- NASB And I am weak today, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer in proportion to his evil.”
- NLT And even though I am the anointed king, these two sons of Zeruiah—Joab and Abishai—are too strong for me to control. So may the Lord repay these evil men for their evil deeds.”
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 admits he feels weak against the ruthless sons of Zeruiah and leaves their judgment to the Lord. He entrusts vengeance to God rather than seizing it himself.
Overview
Though newly anointed, David confesses that Joab and Abishai are too hard for him to control, and he commits their punishment to God's justice. This shows both the real political constraints on the young king and his faith that the Lord will repay evildoers. David's restraint models the biblical principle that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ps 28:4Repay them according to their deeds and for their works of evil. Repay them for what their hands have done; bring back on them what they deserve.
- Ps 101:8Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.
- Prov 25:5Remove the wicked from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.
- 1 Kgs 2:33–34Their blood will come back upon the heads of Joab and his descendants forever; but for David, his descendants, his house, and his throne, there shall be peace from the LORD forever.”
- Ps 62:12and loving devotion to You, O Lord. For You will repay each man according to his deeds.
- 2 Chr 19:6–7Then he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do, for you are not judging for man, but for the LORD, who is with you when you render judgment.
- 2 Tim 4:14Alexander the coppersmith did great harm to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
- 1 Kgs 2:5–6Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them in peacetime to avenge the blood of war. He stained with the blood of war the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
- Rom 13:4For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
- 2 Sam 19:13And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- Isa 7:4and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and of the son of Remaliah.
- Ps 7:16His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
- 1 Chr 22:5And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent—famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.
- 2 Sam 19:5–7Then Joab went into the house and said to the king, “Today you have disgraced all your servants who have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, of your wives, and of your concubines.
- Ps 75:10“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.”
- Prov 20:8A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
- 1 Chr 2:15–16Ozem sixth, and David seventh.
- Exod 21:12Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death.
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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 3:39 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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