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Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

2 Samuel 2:8

Abner son of Ner was the captain of Saul's army. Abner took Ish Bosheth son of Saul to Mahanaim

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abner;   Armies;   Hebron;   Ish-Bosheth;   Israel;   Judah;   Mahanaim;   Scofield Reference Index - Kingdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Ish-Bosheth;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies of Israel, the;   Benjamin, Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Abner;   Ishbosheth;   Mahanaim;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Abner;   David;   Ephraim;   Judah, tribe and kingdom;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Eshbaal;   Mahanaim;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Benjamin;   Gilead;   Ishbosheth;   Jerubbaal;   Jonathan;   Mahanaim;   Sheba (1);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Abner;   Esh-Baal;   Gilead;   Ish-Bosheth;   Lo-Debar;   Mahanaim;   Ner;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abner;   Mahanaim;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Abner ;   Ishbosheth ;   Mahanaim ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Ishbosheth;   Joab;   Mahanaim;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Hebron;   Ish-bosheth;   Mahanaim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Mahana'im,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Eshbaal;   Ishbosheth;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - David;   Ephraim (1);   Gad (1);   God, Names of;   Ish-Bosheth;   Jerubbesheth;   Joab;   Mahanaim;   Ner;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Benjamin;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abner;   Benjamin;   Gad;   Ish-Bosheth;   Jezreel;   King;   Mahanaim;   Names of God;   Rehoboam;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and moved him to Mahanaim.
Hebrew Names Version
Now Aviner the son of Ner, captain of Sha'ul's host, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul, and brought him over to Machanayim;
King James Version
But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Lexham English Bible
But Abner the son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-Bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
English Standard Version
But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim,
New Century Version
Abner son of Ner was the commander of Saul's army. Abner took Saul's son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim
New English Translation
Now Abner son of Ner, the general in command of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth and had brought him to Mahanaim.
Amplified Bible
Now [Saul's cousin] Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
New American Standard Bible
But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But Abner the sonne of Ner that was captaine of Sauls hoste, tooke Ish-bosheth the sonne of Saul, and brought him to Mahanaim,
Legacy Standard Bible
Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.
Contemporary English Version
Abner the son of Ner had been the general of Saul's army. He took Saul's son Ishbosheth across the Jordan River to Mahanaim
Complete Jewish Bible
Avner the son of Ner, commander of Sha'ul's army, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul, brought him over to Machanayim,
Darby Translation
And Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
George Lamsa Translation
But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Sauls army, took Ashbashul, the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Good News Translation
The commander of Saul's army, Abner son of Ner, had fled with Saul's son Ishbosheth across the Jordan to Mahanaim.
Literal Translation
And Abner the son of Ner, the commander of the Saul's army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and caused him to cross over to Mahanaim.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Abner the sonne of Ner, which was Sauls chefe captayne, toke Ißboseth the sonne of Saul, and broughte him thorow the hoost,
American Standard Version
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Bible in Basic English
Now Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth over to Mahanaim,
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But Abner the sonne of Ner that was captayne of Sauls hoaste, toke Isboseth the sonne of Saul, and brought him to Mahanaim,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
King James Version (1611)
But Abner the sonne of Ner, captaine of Sauls hoste, tooke Ishbosheth the sonne of Saul, and brought him ouer to Mahanaim.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But Abenner, the son of Ner, the commander-in-chief of Saul’s army, took Jebosthe son of Saul, and brought him up from the camp to Manaem
English Revised Version
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul’s host, had taken Ish–bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Berean Standard Bible
Meanwhile, Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, took Saul's son Ish-bosheth, moved him to Mahanaim,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe Abner, the sone of Ner, prince of the oost of Saul, took Isbosech, the sone of Saul, and ledde hym aboute bi the castels,
Young's Literal Translation
And Abner, son of Ner, head of the host which Saul hath, hath taken Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, and causeth him to pass over to Mahanaim,
Update Bible Version
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ishbaal the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Webster's Bible Translation
But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
World English Bible
Now Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
New King James Version
But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth 1 Chronicles 8:33 and 1 Chronicles 9:39">[fn] the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim;
New Living Translation
But Abner son of Ner, the commander of Saul's army, had already gone to Mahanaim with Saul's son Ishbosheth.
New Life Bible
But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-bosheth to Mahanaim.
New Revised Standard
But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbaal son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But, Abner son of Ner, prince of the host that pertained unto Saul, took Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim;
Douay-Rheims Bible
But Abner the son of Ner, general of Saul’s army, took Isboseth the son of Saul, and led him about through the camp,
Revised Standard Version
Now Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bo'sheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahana'im;
THE MESSAGE
In the meantime, Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Saul's son Ish-Bosheth to Mahanaim and made him king over Gilead, over Asher, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin—king, as it turns out, over all Israel. Ish-Bosheth Saul's son, was forty years old when he was made king over Israel. He lasted only two years. But the people of Judah stuck with David. David ruled the people of Judah from Hebron for seven and a half years.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ish-bosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim.

Contextual Overview

8 Abner son of Ner was the captain of Saul's army. Abner took Ish Bosheth son of Saul to Mahanaim 9 and made him king of Gilead, Asher, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and all Israel. 10 Ish Bosheth son of Saul was 40 years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled Israel two years, but the tribe of Judah followed David. 11 David ruled over the tribe of Judah from Hebron for seven years and six months. 12 Abner son of Ner and the officers of Ish Bosheth son of Saul left Mahanaim and went to Gibeon. 13 Joab, Zeruiah's son, and the officers of David also went to Gibeon. They met Abner and Ish Bosheth's officers at the pool of Gibeon. Abner's group sat on one side of the pool. Joab's group sat on the other side. 14 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." 15 So the young soldiers got up. The two groups counted their men for the contest. They chose twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin to fight for Ish Bosheth son of Saul, and they chose twelve men from David's officers. 16 Each of the men grabbed his opponent's head and stabbed him in the side with his sword, and then they fell down together. That is why this place in Gibeon is called "The Field of the Sharp Knives." 17 That contest turned into a terrible battle and David's officers defeated Abner and the Israelites that day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Abner: 1 Samuel 14:50, 1 Samuel 17:55, 1 Samuel 26:14

Saul's host: Heb. the host which was Saul's

Ishbosheth: 2 Samuel 3:7, 2 Samuel 3:8, 2 Samuel 4:5, 2 Samuel 4:6, 1 Chronicles 8:33, 1 Chronicles 9:39, Esh-baal

Mahanaim: 2 Samuel 17:26, 2 Samuel 17:27, Genesis 32:2

Reciprocal: Joshua 13:26 - Mahanaim 1 Samuel 26:5 - Abner 2 Samuel 3:6 - Abner 2 Samuel 3:38 - a prince 2 Samuel 17:24 - Mahanaim 1 Kings 4:14 - Mahanaim 2 Kings 10:3 - Look even 1 Chronicles 12:29 - the greatest part of them Psalms 60:2 - broken Psalms 60:6 - divide Psalms 108:8 - Gilead

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden.
Genesis 2:9
Then the Lord God caused all the beautiful trees that were good for food to grow in the garden. In the middle of the garden, he put the tree of life and the tree that gives knowledge about good and evil.
Genesis 3:24
God forced the man to leave the garden. Then he put Cherub angels and a sword of fire at the entrance to the garden to protect it. The sword flashed around and around, guarding the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 4:16
Cain went away from the Lord and lived in the land of Nod.
Genesis 13:10
Lot looked and saw the whole Jordan Valley. He saw that there was much water there. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. At that time the Jordan Valley all the way to Zoar was like the Lord 's Garden. This was good land, like the land of Egypt.)
2 Kings 19:12
Did the gods of those nations save their people? No, my ancestors destroyed them all. They destroyed Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden living in Tel Assar.
Isaiah 51:3
In the same way, the Lord will bless Zion. He will feel sorry for her and her people, and he will do something great for her. He will turn the desert into a garden. It will be like the Garden of Eden. The land was empty, but it will become like the Lord 's garden. People there will be very happy. They will sing victory songs to thank God for what he did.
Ezekiel 27:23
Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Kilmad traded with you.
Ezekiel 28:13
You were in Eden, the garden of God. You had every precious stone— rubies, topaz, and diamonds, beryls, onyx, and jasper, sapphires, turquoise, and emeralds. And each of these stones was set in gold. You were given this beauty on the day you were created. God made you strong.
Ezekiel 31:16
I made the tree fall—and the nations shook with fear at the sound of the falling tree. I sent the tree down to the place of death to join the other people who had gone down into that deep hole. In the past, all the trees of Eden, the best of Lebanon, drank that water. The trees were comforted in the world below.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But Abner, the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host,.... This man's father, Ner, was Saul's uncle, 1 Samuel 14:50, and he was his own cousin, and being general of his army, a post he was willing to keep, might be the reasons for doing what he did, as follows:

took Ishbosheth the son of Saul; and who seems to be his only son left, except what he had by his concubine. This man's name is Eshbaal in 1 Chronicles 8:33. Baal is the name of a shameful idol, and which was therefore sometimes called Bosheth, "shame". See Hosea 9:10; wherefore such names of men, which had Baal in them, were changed for Besheth or Bosheth, as the names of Jerubbaal and Meribbaal, who were called Jerubbesheth and Mephibosheth. See Judges 8:35; compared with

2 Samuel 11:21, and 2 Samuel 4:4 with 1 Chronicles 8:34. The latter of these, a son of Jonathan, bid fairest for the crown by lineal succession, but he being but five years of age, and lame, this man Abner judged fittest for his purpose; and though he knew it was the will of God, and he had sworn that David should be king, yet so blind and obstinate was his ambition, that he set up another against him:

and brought him over to Mahanaim; a city on the other side Jordan, in the tribe of Gad, on the border of the half tribe of Manasseh; see

Joshua 13:26; and hither Abner had Ishbosheth, partly to keep the men of Jabeshgilead in awe, to whom David had sent messengers, acquainting them with his being king of Judah, and prevent their joining with him; and partly that he might be at a proper distance both from the Philistines and from David, till he could form his measures, and gradually carry his point, as he did.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Mahanaim - See Genesis 32:2. From 2 Samuel 2:12 it would seem to have been Ish-bosheth’s capital.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 2:8. Abner the son of Ner — This man had long been one of the chief captains of Saul's army, and commander-in-chief on several occasions; he was probably envious of David's power, by whom he had often been out-generalled in the field.


 
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