2 Samuel 21:15

Easy-to-Read Version

The Philistines started another war with Israel. David and his men went out to fight the Philistines, but David became very tired and weak.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Philistines again waged war against Israel. David went down with his soldiers, and they fought the Philistines, but David became exhausted.

Hebrew Names Version
The Pelishtim had war again with Yisra'el; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Pelishtim. David grew faint;

King James Version
Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

Lexham English Bible
There was war again for the Philistines with Israel, and David and his servants with him went down, and they fought the Philistines, and David grew weary.

English Standard Version
There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary.

New Century Version
Again there was war between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went out to fight the Philistines, but David became tired.

New English Translation
Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted.

Amplified Bible
Now the Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down with his servants, and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

New American Standard Bible
Now when the Philistines were at war with Israel again, David went down, and his servants with him; and when they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Againe the Philistims had warre with Israel: and Dauid went downe, and his seruants with him, and they fought against the Philistims, and Dauid fainted.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Philistines were at war again with Israel, so David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

Contemporary English Version
One time David got very tired when he and his soldiers were fighting the Philistines.

Complete Jewish Bible
Once again the P'lishtim made war on Isra'el. David went down with his servants and fought against the P'lishtim, but David began to get tired.

Darby Translation
And the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought with the Philistines. And David was exhausted.

George Lamsa Translation
Moreover the Philistines were again at war with Israel; and David went down and his servants with him to fight against the Philistines;

Good News Translation
There was another war between the Philistines and Israel, and David and his men went and fought the Philistines. During one of the battles David grew tired.

Literal Translation
And again the Philistines warred with Israel. And David went down, and his servants with him. And they fought with the Philistines. And David was weary.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But there arose warre agayne of ye Philistynes agaynst Israel. And Dauid wente downe & his seruauntes with him, & foughte agaynst the Philistynes. And Dauid was weery,

American Standard Version
And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint;

Bible in Basic English
And the Philistines went to war again with Israel; and David went down with his people, and while they were at Gob they had a fight with the Philistines:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Moreouer, yt Philistines had yet warre againe with Israel, and Dauid went downe and his seruauntes with him, & fought against the Philistines: And Dauid waxed faintie.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines; and David waxed faint.

King James Version (1611)
Moreouer, the Philistines had yet warre againe with Israel, and Dauid went down, and his seruants with him, and fought against the Philistines, and Dauid waxed faint.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And there was yet war between the Philistines and Israel: and David went down and his servants with him, and they fought with the Philistines, and David went.

English Revised Version
And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

Berean Standard Bible
Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines; but David became exhausted.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe batel of Filisteis was maad eft ayens Israel; and Dauid yede doun, and hise seruauntis with hym, and fouyten ayen Filisteis.

Young's Literal Translation
And again have the Philistines war with Israel, and David goeth down, and his servants with him, and they fight with the Philistines; and David is weary,

Update Bible Version
And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his slaves with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint;

Webster's Bible Translation
Moreover, the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David became faint.

World English Bible
The Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. David grew faint;

New King James Version
1 Chronicles 20:4-8">[xr] When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.

New Living Translation
Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel. And when David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted.

New Life Bible
The Philistines were at war again with Israel. David went down with his servants and they fought the Philistines. And David became tired.

New Revised Standard
The Philistines went to war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants. They fought against the Philistines, and David grew weary.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the Philistines had yet again a war with Israel, - so David went down, and his servants with him, and fought the Philistines, and David became faint.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Philistines made war again against Israel, and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David growing faint,

Revised Standard Version
The Philistines had war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines; and David grew weary.

THE MESSAGE
War broke out again between the Philistines and Israel. David and his men went down to fight. David became exhausted. Ishbi-Benob, a warrior descended from Rapha, with a spear weighing nearly eight pounds and outfitted in brand-new armor, announced that he'd kill David. But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to the rescue, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David's men swore to him, "No more fighting on the front-lines for you! Don't snuff out the lamp of Israel!"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now when the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David went down and his servants with him; and as they fought against the Philistines, David became weary.

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ The Philistines started another war with Israel. David and his men went out to fight the Philistines, but David became very tired and weak. ¹⁶ Ishbi-Benob was one of the giants. His spear weighed over 7 pounds. He put on new armor and thought he would be able to kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai son of Zeruiah killed this giant Philistine and saved David's life. Then David's men made him promise that he would not go out to battle anymore. They said, "If you do, Israel might lose its brightest leader." ¹⁸ Later, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Saph, another one of the giants. ¹⁹ Later, there was another battle at Gob against the Philistines. Elhanan the son of Jaare Oregim from Bethlehem killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath from Gath. His spear was as big as a post. ²⁰ There was another battle at Gath. There was a very large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He had 24 fingers and toes in all. This man was also one of the giants. ²¹ This man challenged Israel and made fun of them, but Jonathan killed this man. (This was Jonathan, the son of David's brother Shimei.) ²² All four of these men were giants from Gath. They were killed by David and his men.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Philistines: 2 Samuel 5:17, 2 Samuel 5:22, 1 Chronicles 20:4

and David waxed faint: Joshua 14:10, Joshua 14:11, Psalms 71:9, Psalms 71:18, Psalms 73:26, Ecclesiastes 12:3, Isaiah 40:28-30, Jeremiah 9:23, Jeremiah 9:24, 1 Peter 1:24, 1 Peter 1:25

Reciprocal: Genesis 6:4 - giants 2 Samuel 8:1 - And after Psalms 9:5 - rebuked Psalms 18:38 - General Psalms 60:8 - triumph Psalms 108:9 - over Philistia

Cross-References

Genesis 21:1
The Lord came back to visit Sarah as he said he would, and he kept his promise to her.

Genesis 21:3
Abraham named his son Isaac.

Genesis 21:14
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and water and gave them to Hagar. She carried them and left with her boy. She left that place and wandered in the desert of Beersheba.

Genesis 21:22
Then Abimelech and Phicol spoke with Abraham. Phicol was the commander of Abimelech's army. They said to Abraham, "God is with you in everything you do.

Genesis 21:25
Then Abraham complained to Abimelech because Abimelech's servants had captured a well of water.

2 Kings 3:9
So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. They traveled around for seven days. There was not enough water for the army or for their animals.

Psalms 63:1

A song of David written when he was in the desert of Judah.

God, you are my God. I am searching so hard to find you. Body and soul, I thirst for you in this dry and weary land without water.

Isaiah 44:12
One worker uses his tools to heat iron over hot coals. Then he uses his hammer to beat the metal to shape it into a statue. He uses his own powerful arms, but when he gets hungry, he loses his strength. If he does not drink water, he becomes weak.

Jeremiah 14:3
The leaders of the people send their servants to get water. The servants go to the water storage places, but they don't find any water. The servants come back with empty jars, so they are ashamed and embarrassed. They cover their heads from shame.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel,.... Besides what is before recorded in this and the preceding book; being animated to it partly by the number of giants among them, and partly by the decline of David's life, and it may be chiefly by the insurrections and rebellions in Israel; though some think that these battles were not after the rebellions of Absalom and Sheba, and the affair of the Gibeonites, though here recorded; but before, and quickly after the war with the Ammonites, next to which they are placed in 1 Chronicles 20:1; but they seem to be placed here in their proper order:

and David went down, and his servants with him; to the borders of the Philistines, perceiving they were preparing to make war against him:

and fought against the Philistines; engaged in a battle with them:

and David waxed faint; in the battle, not able to bear the fatigues of war, and wield his armour as he had used, being in the decline of life; after he had been engaged a while, his spirits began to fail, not through fear, but through feebleness; but, according to Josephus, it was through weariness in pursuing the enemy put to flight, which the following person perceived, and turned upon him y.

y Antiqu. l. 7. c. 12. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This, like the preceding paragraph 2 Samuel 21:1-14, is manifestly a detached and unconnected extract. It is probably taken from some history of David’s wars, apparently the same as furnished the materials for 2 Samuel 5:0; 2 Samuel 8:0; 2 Samuel 23:8-39. There is no direct clue to the time when the events here related took place, but it was probably quite in the early part of David’s reign, while he was still young and active, after the war described in 2 Samuel 5:0. The Book of Chronicles places these Philistine battles immediately after the taking of Rabbah of the Ammonites 1 Chronicles 20:4-8, but omits David’s adventure 2 Samuel 21:15-17.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 21:15. Moreover the Philistines had yet war — There is no mention of this war in the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 20:4, &c.

David waxed faint. — This circumstance is nowhere else mentioned.