Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
Attention!
For 10¢ a day you can enjoy StudyLight.org ads
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Hebrew Names Version

2 Samuel 18:11

Yo'av said to the man who told him, Behold, you saw it, and why didn't you strike him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a sash.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Absalom;   Ephraim;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies of Israel, the;   Arms, Military;   Girdles;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ahimaaz;   Joab;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Absalom;   Joab;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Gift;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Fox;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Apron;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Abishai;   Joab;   Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Girdle;   Joab ;   Oak;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Absalom;   David;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jo'ab;   Piece of Silver;   War;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Girdle;   War;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cushi;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Gifts;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten silver pieces and a belt!”
King James Version
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.
Lexham English Bible
Then Joab said to the man who was telling him, "Look, if you saw, why did you not strike him down to the ground there? I would have gladly given you ten pieces of silver and a leather belt."
English Standard Version
Joab said to the man who told him, "What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
New Century Version
Joab said to him, "You saw him? Why didn't you kill him and let him fall to the ground? I would have given you a belt and four ounces of silver!"
New English Translation
Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, "What! You saw this? Why didn't you strike him down right on the spot? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a commemorative belt!"
Amplified Bible
Joab said to the man who informed him, "You saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
New American Standard Bible
Then Joab said to the man who had informed him, "So behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And it would have been my duty to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioab saide vnto the man that tolde him, And hast thou in deede seene? why then diddest thou not there smite him to the grounde, and I woulde haue giuen thee ten shekels of siluer, and a girdle?
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Joab said to the man who had told him, "Now behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
Contemporary English Version
Joab said, "You saw Absalom? Why didn't you kill him? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a special belt."
Complete Jewish Bible
Yo'av asked the man who told him, "Here now, you saw it; so why didn't you strike him to the ground then and there? I would have had to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt besides."
Darby Translation
And Joab said to the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest [him], and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten silver pieces and a girdle.
Easy-to-Read Version
Joab said to the man, "Why didn't you kill him and let him fall to the ground? I would have given you a belt and ten pieces of silver!"
George Lamsa Translation
And Joab said to the man who told him, When you saw him, why then did you not smite him there and throw him to the ground? And I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a garment.
Good News Translation
Joab answered, "If you saw him, why didn't you kill him on the spot? I myself would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
Literal Translation
and Joab said to the man who told him, And behold, you have seen. And why did you not strike him to the earth there and call on me to give you ten silverlings and a girdle?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Ioab saide vnto the ma yt tolde it him: Beholde, sawest thou that, why smotest thou him not there to the groude? so wolde I haue geuen the of myne awne behalfe ten syluerlynges and a gyrdell.
American Standard Version
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.
Bible in Basic English
And Joab said to the man who had given him the news, If you saw this, why did you not put your sword through him, and I would have given you ten bits of silver and a band for your robe?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ioab sayd vnto the man that told him: If thou diddest see him, why diddest not thou there smite him to the ground, and I would haue geuen thee ten sicles of siluer, and a gyrdle?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Joab said unto the man that told him: 'And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have had to give thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.'
King James Version (1611)
And Ioab said vnto the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground, and I would haue giuen thee tenne shekels of siluer, and a girdle?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joab said to the man who reported it to him, And, behold, thou didst see him: why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.
English Revised Version
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten [pieces of] silver, and a girdle.
Berean Standard Bible
"You just saw him!" Joab exclaimed. "Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior's belt!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Joab seide to the man that `hadde telde to hym, If thou siyest, whi persidist thou not hym to the erthe, and Y schulde haue youe `to thee ten siclis of siluer, and a girdil?
Young's Literal Translation
And Joab saith to the man who is declaring [it] to him, `And lo, thou hast seen -- and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth -- and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?'
Update Bible Version
And Joab said to the man that told him, And, look, you saw it, and why didn't you smite him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a girdle.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Joab said to the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest [him], and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten [shekels] of silver, and a girdle.
World English Bible
Joab said to the man who told him, Behold, you saw it, and why didn't you strike him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a sash.
New King James Version
So Joab said to the man who told him, "You just saw him! And why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt."
New Living Translation
"What?" Joab demanded. "You saw him there and didn't kill him? I would have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a hero's belt!"
New Life Bible
Joab said to the man, "You saw him! Why did you not kill him and let him fall to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
New Revised Standard
Joab said to the man who told him, "What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Joab to the man that was telling him, Lo! since thou sawest him, why didst thou not smite him there, to the ground? then should I have been bound to give thee ten pieces of silver, and a girdle.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Joab said to the man that told him: If thou sawest him, why didst thou not stab him to the ground, and I would have given thee ten sicles of silver, and a belt?
Revised Standard Version
Jo'ab said to the man who told him, "What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a girdle."
THE MESSAGE
Joab said to the man who told him, "If you saw him, why didn't you kill him then and there? I'd have rewarded you with ten pieces of silver and a fancy belt."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Joab said to the man who had told him, "Now behold, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? And I would have given you ten pieces of silver and a belt."

Contextual Overview

9 Avshalom happened to meet the servants of David. Avshalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the sky and eretz; and the mule that was under him went on. 10 A certain man saw it, and told Yo'av, and said, Behold, I saw Avshalom hanging in an oak. 11 Yo'av said to the man who told him, Behold, you saw it, and why didn't you strike him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten [pieces of] silver, and a sash. 12 The man said to Yo'av, Though I should receive a thousand [pieces of] silver in my hand, I still wouldn't put forth my hand against the king's son; for in our hearing the king charged you and Avishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Avshalom. 13 Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then you yourself would have set yourself against [me]. 14 Then said Yo'av, I may not wait thus with you. He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Avshalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. 15 Ten young men who bore Yo'av's armor compassed about and struck Avshalom, and killed him. 16 Yo'av blew the shofar, and the people returned from pursuing after Yisra'el; for Yo'av held back the people. 17 They took Avshalom, and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Yisra'el fled everyone to his tent. 18 Now Avshalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself the pillar, which is in the king's dale; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and he called the pillar after his own name; and it is called Avshalom's monument, to this day.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 19:13 - room of Joab Psalms 143:3 - smitten Proverbs 1:19 - every

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Then Avraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?"
Genesis 17:24
Avraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
Genesis 18:11
Now Avraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age. It had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.
Genesis 18:12
Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old will I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
Genesis 18:18
seeing that Avraham has surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the eretz will be blessed in him?
Genesis 18:21
I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come to me. If not, I will know."
Genesis 31:35
She said to her father, "Don't let my lord be angry that I can't rise up before you; for the manner of women is on me." He searched, but didn't find the terafim.
Leviticus 15:19
"'If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days: and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
Luke 1:7
But they had no child, because Elisheva was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
Luke 1:18
Zekharyah said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joab said unto the man that told him,.... That gave the above account of him:

and, behold, thou sawest [him]; in reality; or, "didst thou see him?" is it a fact?

and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground; kill him on the spot, that he might have dropped from the tree to the ground:

and I would have given thee ten [shekels] of silver; on the news of it, for doing it, which was near twenty four shillings of our money; Josephus says i fifty shekels; the Arabic version has it ten thousand talents of silver, too great a sum by far:

and a girdle? which was a mark of great honour, and a token of a commission under him, and of investing: him with a military office; see

1 Samuel 18:4; it used to be given as an honorary reward to soldiers that behaved well, as on the contrary it was reckoned a reproach to be ungirt, or the girdle to be taken away k.

i Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 10. sect. 2.) k Vide Lydium de re militare, l. 3. c. 6.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ten shekels - (About 25 shillings.) The word “shekel” is understood, as in Genesis 20:16; Genesis 37:28. See the Exodus 38:24 note.

A girdle - Girdles were costly articles of Hebrew dress used to put money in Matthew 10:9, and given as presents 1 Samuel 18:4.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 18:11. And a girdle. — The military belt was the chief ornament of a soldier, and was highly prized in all ancient nations; it was also a rich present from one chieftain to another. Jonathan gave his to David, as the highest pledge of his esteem and perpetual friendship, 1 Samuel 18:4. And Ajax gave his to Hector, as a token of the highest respect. - Hom. Il. vii., ver. 305.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile