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Saturday, August 23rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

Bishop's Bible

2 Samuel 2:14

And Abner sayde to Ioab: Let the young men nowe aryse, and play before vs. And Ioab sayde: Let them aryse.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abner;   Armies;   Championship;   David;   Israel;   Joab;   War;   Scofield Reference Index - Kingdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Abner;   Amusements;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gibeon;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abner;   Joab;   Sport;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Gibeon;   Joab;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - War;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Games;   Gibeon;   Helkath-Hazzurim;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abner;   Games;   Joab;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ishbosheth ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Joab;   Play;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gibeon;   Hebron;   Smith Bible Dictionary - War;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Hagar;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Games;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abner;   Ish-Bosheth;   Samuel, Books of;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Abner said to Joab, “Let’s have the young men get up and compete in front of us.”
Hebrew Names Version
Aviner said to Yo'av, Please let the young men arise and play before us. Yo'av said, Let them arise.
King James Version
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Lexham English Bible
Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come up and fight in our presence." And Joab said, "Let them come up."
English Standard Version
And Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
New Century Version
Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men have a contest here." Joab said, "Yes, let them have a contest."
New English Translation
Abner said to Joab, "Let the soldiers get up and fight before us." Joab said, "So be it!"
Amplified Bible
Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now stand and have a contest before us." And Joab said, "Let them stand."
New American Standard Bible
Then Abner said to Joab, "Now have the young men arise and hold a martial skills match in our presence." And Joab said, "Have them arise!"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Abner saide to Ioab, Let the yong men nowe arise, and play before vs. And Ioab said, Let them arise.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Abner said to Joab, "Now let the young men arise and hold a contest before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
Contemporary English Version
Abner yelled to Joab, "Let's have some of our best soldiers get up and fight each other!" Joab agreed,
Complete Jewish Bible
Avner said to Yo'av, "If it's all right with you, let's have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves, while we watch." Yo'av said, "Yes, let them."
Darby Translation
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise and make sport before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Easy-to-Read Version
Abner said to Joab, "Let's have the young soldiers get up and have a contest here." Joab said, "Yes, let's have a contest."
George Lamsa Translation
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Good News Translation
Abner said to Joab, "Let's have some of the young men from each side fight an armed contest." "All right," Joab answered.
Literal Translation
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men rise up now and play before us. And Joab said, Let them rise.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Abner sayde vnto Ioab: Let the yonge me get them vp, and playe before vs. Ioab sayde: Let them aryse.
American Standard Version
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Bible in Basic English
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men give a test of their strength before us. And Joab said, Let them do so.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Abner said to Joab: 'Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us.' And Joab said: 'Let them arise.'
King James Version (1611)
And Abner said to Ioab, Let the yong men now arise, and play before vs: and Ioab saide, Let them arise.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Abenner said to Joab, Let now the young men arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
English Revised Version
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray thee, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Abner said to Joab, "Let us have the young men get up and compete before us." "Let them get up," Joab replied.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Abner seide to Joab, `The children rise, and plei befor us. And Joab answeride, Rise thei.
Young's Literal Translation
And Abner saith unto Joab, `Let the youths rise, I pray thee, and they play before us;' and Joab saith, `Let them rise.'
Update Bible Version
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men, I pray you, arise and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.
World English Bible
Abner said to Joab, Please let the young men arise and play before us. Joab said, Let them arise.
New King James Version
Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men now arise and compete before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."
New Living Translation
Then Abner suggested to Joab, "Let's have a few of our warriors fight hand to hand here in front of us." "All right," Joab agreed.
New Life Bible
Then Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men get up and have a test of strength in front of us." And Joab said, "Let them get up."
New Revised Standard
Abner said to Joab, "Let the young men come forward and have a contest before us." Joab said, "Let them come forward."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Abner unto Joab, Let the young men arise, I pray thee, and make sport before us. And Joab said - Let them arise.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Abner said to Joab: Let the young men rise, and play before us. And Joab answered: Let them rise.
Revised Standard Version
And Abner said to Jo'ab, "Let the young men arise and play before us." And Jo'ab said, "Let them arise."
THE MESSAGE
Abner challenged Joab, "Put up your best fighters. Let's see them do their stuff." Joab said, "Good! Let them go at it!"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Abner said to Joab, "Now let the young men arise and hold a contest before us." And Joab said, "Let them arise."

Contextual Overview

8 But Abner the sonne of Ner that was captayne of Sauls hoaste, toke Isboseth the sonne of Saul, and brought him to Mahanaim, 9 And made him king ouer Gilead, and ouer the Assurites, and ouer Iezrael, Ephraim, Beniamin, & ouer all Israel. 10 And Isboseth Sauls sonne was fourtie yeres olde when he began to raigne ouer Israel, and raigned two yeres: But the house of Iuda folowed Dauid. 11 (And the time whiche Dauid raigned in Hebron ouer the house of Iuda, was seuen yeres and sixe monethes.) 12 And Abner the sonne of Ner, and the seruauntes of Isboseth the sonne of Saul wet out of Mahanaim to Gibeon 13 And Ioab the sonne of Zaruia, and the seruauntes of Dauid, went out and met one another by the poole of Gibeon: And they sate downe, the one on the one side of the poole, and the other on the other side. 14 And Abner sayde to Ioab: Let the young men nowe aryse, and play before vs. And Ioab sayde: Let them aryse. 15 Then there arose & went ouer twelue of Beniamin by numbre, which pertayned to Isboseth the sonne of Saul, and twelue of the seruauntes of Dauid. 16 And euery one caught his felowe by ye head, & thrust his sword in his felowes side, and so they fell downe together: Wherefore the place was called Helkath hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. 17 And there was an exceeding cruell battel that same day: For Abner and the men of Israel fell before the seruauntes of Dauid.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

play before: 2 Samuel 2:17, 2 Samuel 2:26, 2 Samuel 2:27, Proverbs 10:23, Proverbs 17:14, Proverbs 20:18, Proverbs 25:8, Proverbs 26:18, Proverbs 26:19

Reciprocal: Judges 9:29 - Increase thine army 1 Samuel 14:12 - Come up to us 2 Kings 14:8 - Come 2 Chronicles 25:17 - let us see

Cross-References

Genesis 10:11
Out of that lande came Assur, and builded Niniue, and the citie Rehoboth, and Calah,
Genesis 10:22
The chyldren of Sem: Elam, and Assur, Arpharad, and Lud, and Aram.
Genesis 15:18
In that same day the Lorde made a couenaunt with Abram, saying: vnto thy seede haue I geuen this lande, fro the ryuer of Egypt, euen vnto the great ryuer, the ryuer of Euphrates.
Genesis 25:18
And they dwelled from Hauilah vnto Sur, that is by the border of Egypt as thou goest toward Assur, and he died in the presence of all his brethren.
Deuteronomy 1:7
Turne you and take your iourney, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and vnto all the places nye therevnto, both vnto the playne, and hilles, and dales, to the south, to the seas side, to the lande of Chanaan, and vnto Libanon, euen vnto the great riuer, the riuer Euphrates.
Deuteronomy 11:24
All the places whereon the soles of your feete shall treade, shalbe yours: euen from the wyldernesse, and from Libanon, and fro the riuer Euphrates, euen vnto the vttermost sea shal your coast be.
Daniel 10:4
Upon the foure & twentith day of the first moneth, I was by the side of that great riuer, [euen] Hiddekel.
Revelation 9:14
Saying to the sixt angell whiche had the trumpe: Loose the foure angels which are bounde in the great riuer Euphrates.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Abner said to Joab,.... Perceiving he made no motion towards an engagement with him, his orders from David being only to act on the defensive, and avoid as much as possible the effusion of blood:

let the young men now arise, and play before us; with their swords after the manner of gladiators or duellers; that it might appear who were best skilled in the use of the sword, and who were the bravest, stoutest, and most courageous; and this he proposed in a way of bravado, and in order to bring on a battle, or to decide the quarrel between them; and this bloody barbarous exercise Abner calls play, as if it was a diversion and pastime to see men wounding and killing one another:

and Joab said, let them arise; he accepted the challenge, not caring to be hectored and bullied by Abner.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Play - (Compare Judges 16:25; 1 Samuel 18:7). Here, the word is applied to the serious game of war, to be played by twelve combatants on each side, with the two armies for spectators.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 2:14. Let the young men - play before us. — This was diabolical play, where each man thrust his sword into the body of the other, so that the twenty-four (twelve on each side) fell down dead together! But this was the signal for that sanguinary skirmish which immediately took place.


 
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