So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him;
Parallel translations
- WEB God do so to Abner, and more also, if, as Yahweh has sworn to David, I don’t do even so to him;
- BSB May God punish Abner, and ever so severely, if I do not do for David what the LORD has sworn to him:
- NKJV May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the Lord has sworn to him—
- NASB May God do so to me, and more so, if as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for him:
- NLT May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t do everything I can to help David get what the Lord has promised him!
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 vows by God to help transfer the kingdom to David. He invokes a curse on himself if he fails to act.
Overview
In his anger Abner swears a solemn oath to bring about what the Lord had promised, the giving of the kingdom to David. Strikingly, he acknowledges that God had sworn to establish David's reign. Though Abner acts from pride rather than piety, his words confess the divine purpose, showing how God can use even flawed human motives to accomplish His sovereign will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Sam 15:28And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.
- 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
- Ruth 1:17Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
- 1 Sam 28:17And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
- 1 Chr 12:23And these are the numbers of the bands that were ready armed to the war, and came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to the word of the LORD.
- Ps 89:35–37Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.
- 1 Sam 3:17And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.
- Ps 89:19–20Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
- 1 Sam 16:1–13And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.
- 1 Sam 25:22So and more also do God unto the enemies of David, if I leave of all that pertain to him by the morning light any that pisseth against the wall.
- 2 Sam 3:35And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
- Ps 89:3–4I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
- 1 Sam 14:44And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
- 2 Sam 19:13And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
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 3:9 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.