They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life. Today the LORD has granted vengeance to my lord the king against Saul and his offspring.”
Parallel translations
- WEB They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life! Yahweh has avenged my lord the king today of Saul, and of his offspring. ”
- KJV And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.
- NKJV And they brought the head of Ishbosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul your enemy, who sought your life; and the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day of Saul and his descendants.”
- NASB Then they brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; so the Lord has given my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and his descendants.”
- NLT When they arrived at Hebron, they presented Ishbosheth’s head to David. “Look!” they exclaimed to the king. “Here is the head of Ishbosheth, the son of your enemy Saul who tried to kill you. Today the Lord has given my lord the king revenge on Saul and his entire family!”
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
They present Ishbosheth's head to David, claiming the Lord has avenged him on Saul's house. They expect reward but invoke God's name to excuse murder.
Overview
The assassins bring the severed head to Hebron, presenting it as the Lord's vengeance on David's enemy and Saul's offspring. They presume David will rejoice at the death of his rival and reward them. Their attempt to clothe a treacherous murder in pious language profoundly misreads David, who never sought the throne through bloodshed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- 1 Sam 25:29And should someone pursue you and seek your life, then the life of my lord will be bound securely by the LORD your God in the bundle of the living. But He shall fling away the lives of your enemies like stones from a sling.
- 2 Sam 22:48the God who avenges me and brings down nations beneath me,
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
- 1 Sam 18:11and he hurled it, thinking, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
- 1 Sam 19:15But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”
- Luke 18:7–8Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- 1 Sam 19:2–11so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.
- 1 Sam 20:1Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”
- Matt 2:20“Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
- Ps 63:9–10But those who seek my life to destroy it will go into the depths of the earth.
- 2 Sam 18:31Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”
- Rev 6:10And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
- 2 Sam 18:19Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
- 1 Sam 23:15While David was in Horesh in the Wilderness of Ziph, he saw that Saul had come out to take his life.
- 1 Sam 24:4So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
- Ps 71:24My tongue will indeed proclaim Your righteousness all day long, for those who seek my harm are disgraced and confounded.
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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 4:8 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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