Lectionary Calendar
Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

2 Samuel 3:23

Right after they arrived, someone told Joab, "Abner visited the king, and the king let him go. Abner even left without causing any trouble."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Talebearer;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Host of Heaven;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Joab;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Joab ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - David;   Dwelling;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Joab;   Ner;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Abner;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When Joab and his whole army arrived, Joab was informed, “Abner son of Ner came to see the king, the king dismissed him, and he went in peace.”
Hebrew Names Version
When Yo'av and all the host who was with him had come, they told Yo'av, saying, Aviner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in shalom.
King James Version
When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Lexham English Bible
When Joab and all the army that was with him came, they told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he left in peace."
English Standard Version
When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace."
New Century Version
When Joab and all his army arrived at Hebron, the army said to Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to King David, and David let him leave in peace."
New English Translation
When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: "Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!"
Amplified Bible
When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
New American Standard Bible
When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they informed Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go on his way, and he has gone in peace."
Geneva Bible (1587)
When Ioab, & all the hoste that was with him were come, men tolde Ioab, saying, Abner the sonne of Ner came to the King, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, and they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
Complete Jewish Bible
When Yo'av and all his army had arrived, Yo'av was told, "Avner the son of Ner came to the king, but he sent him off, and he has left under safe conduct."
Darby Translation
And Joab and all the host that was with him came; and they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away; and he is gone in peace.
Easy-to-Read Version
Joab and all his army arrived at Hebron. The army said to Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to King David, and David let Abner leave in peace."
George Lamsa Translation
When Joab and all the people who were with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to King David, and he has sent him away and he has gone in peace.
Good News Translation
When Joab and his men arrived, he was told that Abner had come to King David and had been sent away with a guarantee of safety.
Literal Translation
And Joab and all the army with him had come. And they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner has come to the king. And he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whan Ioab and all the hoost with him was come, it was tolde him that Abner the sonne of Ner came to the kynge, and how he had sent him fro him, so that he was gone his waye in peace.
American Standard Version
When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Bible in Basic English
When Joab and his men came, news was given them that Abner, the son of Ner, had come to the king, who had let him go away again in peace.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
When Ioab and al the hoast that was with him were come, men tolde Ioab, saying: Abner the sonne of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, that he is gone in peace.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying: 'Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.'
King James Version (1611)
When Ioab and all the host that was with him, were come, they told Ioab, saying, Abner the sonne of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joab and all his army came, and it was reported to Joab, saying, Abenner the son of Ner is come to David, and David has let him go, and he has departed in peace.
English Revised Version
When Joab and all the host that was with him were come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Berean Standard Bible
When Joab and all his troops arrived, he was informed, "Abner son of Ner came to see the king, who sent him on his way in peace."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Joab, and the oostis that weren with hym, camen aftirward; therfor it was teld to Joab of telleris, Abner, the sone of Ner, cam to the kyng, and the kyng lefte hym, and he yede in pees.
Young's Literal Translation
and Joab and all the host that [is] with him have come, and they declare to Joab, saying, `Abner son of Ner hath come unto the king, and he sendeth him away, and he goeth in peace.'
Update Bible Version
When Joab and all the host that was with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace.
Webster's Bible Translation
When Joab and all the host that [was] with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he hath gone in peace.
World English Bible
When Joab and all the host who was with him had come, they told Joab, saying, Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
New King James Version
When Joab and all the troops that were with him had come, they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he sent him away, and he has gone in peace."
New Living Translation
When Joab arrived, he was told that Abner had just been there visiting the king and had been sent away in safety.
New Life Bible
When Joab and the army with him came, it was told to Joab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king. And the king has sent him away in peace."
New Revised Standard
When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When, Joab, and all the host that was with him, had come in, then told they Joab, saying, Abner son of Ner hath been in unto the king, and he hath let him go, and he hath departed in peace.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Joab and all the army that was with him, came afterwards: and it was told Joab, that Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace.
Revised Standard Version
When Jo'ab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Jo'ab, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has let him go, and he has gone in peace."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, they told Joab, saying, "Abner the son of Ner came to the king, and he has sent him away, and he has gone in peace."

Contextual Overview

22 Soon after Abner had left Hebron, Joab and some of David's soldiers came back, bringing a lot of things they had taken from an enemy village. 23 Right after they arrived, someone told Joab, "Abner visited the king, and the king let him go. Abner even left without causing any trouble." 24 Joab went to David and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you, and you let him go. Now he's long gone! 25 You know Abner—he came to trick you. He wants to find out how strong your army is and to know everything you're doing." 26 Joab left David, then he sent some messengers to catch up with Abner. They brought him back from the well at Sirah, but David did not know anything about it. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pretended he wanted to talk privately with him. So he took Abner into one of the small rooms that were part of the town gate and stabbed him in the stomach. Joab killed him because Abner had killed Joab's brother Asahel. 28 David heard how Joab had killed Abner, and he said, "I swear to the Lord that I am completely innocent of Abner's death! 29 Joab and his family are the guilty ones. I pray that Joab's family will always be sick with sores and other skin diseases. May they all be cowards, and may they die in war or starve to death." 30 Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon. 31 David told Joab and everyone with him, "Show your sorrow by tearing your clothes and wearing sackcloth! Walk in front of Abner's body and cry!" David walked behind the stretcher on which Abner's body was being carried.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Proverbs 17:26 - to strike

Cross-References

Genesis 2:5
no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land.
Genesis 3:19
You will have to sweat to earn a living; you were made out of soil, and you will once again turn into soil."
Genesis 4:2
Later she had another son and named him Abel. Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land.
Genesis 4:12
If you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
Genesis 9:20
Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard.
Ecclesiastes 5:9
And since the king is the highest official, he benefits most from the taxes paid on the land.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When Joab and all the host that [was] with him were come,.... To Hebron, or rather to David's court; for their coming to the city is before mentioned; this must be understood not of the whole army, of all the common soldiers, but of the chief officers, who with Joab came to court, to wait upon David, and report their success:

they told Joab, saying, Abner the son, of Ner came to the king; some of the courtiers informed him of it, who knew it would not be very agreeable to him:

and he hath sent him away, and he is gone in peace: instead of seizing him, and laying him in a prison as his enemy, he has let him go with all the marks of friendship and good will.


 
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