May God do so to me, and more so, if as the Lord has sworn to David, I do not accomplish this for 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;
- KJV So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do 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—
- 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 15:28Samuel said to him, “Yahweh has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you.
- 1 Kgs 19:2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I don’t make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time!”
- Ruth 1:17Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
- 1 Sam 28:17Yahweh has done to you as he spoke by me. Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, even to David.
- 1 Chr 12:23These are the numbers of the heads of those who were armed for war, who came to David to Hebron, to turn the kingdom of Saul to him, according to Yahweh’s word.
- Ps 89:35–37Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.
- 1 Sam 3:17He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”
- Ps 89:19–20Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, “I have given strength to the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people.
- 1 Sam 16:1–13Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided a king for myself among his sons.”
- 1 Sam 25:22God do so to the enemies of David, and more also, if I leave of all that belongs to him by the morning light so much as one who urinates on a wall.”
- 2 Sam 3:35All the people came to urge David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or anything else, until the sun goes down.”
- Ps 89:3–4“I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant,
- 1 Sam 14:44Saul said, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
- 2 Sam 19:13Say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if you aren’t captain of the army before me continually instead of Joab.’”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 3:9 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.