2 Samuel 17:12

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. Not even one will be left—neither he nor any of the men with him.

Hebrew Names Version
So shall we come on him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him we will not leave so much as one.

King James Version
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

Lexham English Bible
Then we will come to him in one of the places where he may be found, and we shall come upon him as the dew falls on the ground. He and all the men who are with him will not survive, not even one!

English Standard Version
So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.

New Century Version
We will go to David wherever he is hiding. We will fall on him as dew falls on the ground. We will kill him and all of his men so that no one will be left alive.

New English Translation
We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive—not one of them!

Amplified Bible
"So shall we come upon David in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls [unseen and unheard] on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

New American Standard Bible
"Then we will come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him just as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

Geneva Bible (1587)
So shall we come vpon him in some place, where we shall finde him, and we will vpon him as the dewe falleth on the ground: and of all the men that are with him, wee will not leaue him one.

Legacy Standard Bible
So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will set down on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

Contemporary English Version
and we will all go to fight David wherever he is. We will fall on him just as dew falls and covers the ground. He and all his soldiers will die!

Complete Jewish Bible
In this way we'll come upon him wherever he is, and we'll fall on him as the dew falls on the ground; of him and all the men with him we won't leave even one alive.

Darby Translation
And we shall come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

Easy-to-Read Version
We will catch David wherever he is hiding and attack him with so many soldiers that they will be like the dew that covers the ground. We will kill David and all of his men—no one will be left alive.

George Lamsa Translation
So we shall go against him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him there shall not be left even one.

Good News Translation
We will find David wherever he is, and attack him before he knows what's happening. Neither he nor any of his men will survive.

Literal Translation
And we shall come in to him, in one of the places, there where he shall be found. And we shall fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of all the men who are with him, not even one shall be left.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
then wil we fall vpon him in what place we finde him, and wyll ouerwhelme him euen as the dew falleth vpon the earth, so that we shal not leaue one of him and of all his men.

American Standard Version
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him we will not leave so much as one.

Bible in Basic English
Then we will come on him in some place, wherever he may be, falling on him as the dew comes on the earth: and of him and all the men who are with him not one will get away with his life.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
For so shall we come vpon him in one place or other where we shal finde him, and we wil fal vpon him, euen as thicke as the deawe falleth on ye ground: And of al the men that are with him, we shal not leaue him one.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him we will not leave so much as one.

King James Version (1611)
So shall wee come vpon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light vpon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him, there shall not be left so much as one.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And we will come upon him in one of the places where we shall find him, and we will encamp against him, as the dew falls upon the earth; and we will not leave of him and of his men so much as one.

English Revised Version
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him we will not leave so much as one.

Berean Standard Bible
Then we will attack David wherever we find him, and we will descend on him like dew on the ground. And of all the men with him, not even one will remain.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And we schulen falle on hym, in what euer place he is foundun, and we schulen hile hym, as dew is wont to falle on the erthe; and we schulen not leeue of the men that ben with hym, `sotheli not oon.

Young's Literal Translation
and we have come in unto him in one of the places where he is found, and we [are] upon him as the dew falleth on the ground, and there hath not been left of him and of all the men who [are] with him even one.

Update Bible Version
So we shall come on him in some place where he shall be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men that are with him we will not leave so much as one.

Webster's Bible Translation
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that [are] with him there shall not be left so much as one.

World English Bible
So shall we come on him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him we will not leave so much as one.

New King James Version
So we will come upon him in some place where he may be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground. And of him and all the men who are with him there shall not be left so much as one.

New Living Translation
When we find David, we'll fall on him like dew that falls on the ground. Then neither he nor any of his men will be left alive.

New Life Bible
So we will find David wherever he is. We will fall on him like water falls on the ground in the early morning. And not he or any of the men with him will be left.

New Revised Standard
So we shall come upon him in whatever place he may be found, and we shall light on him as the dew falls on the ground; and he will not survive, nor will any of those with him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So shall we come upon him in some place where he hath been found, yea, we, shall be upon him, as when the dew falleth upon the ground, - and there shall not be left of him, or of the men that are with him, so much as one.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And we shall come upon him in what place soever he shall be found: and we shall cover him, as the dew falleth upon the ground, and we shall not leave of the men that are with him, not so much as one.

Revised Standard Version
So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"So we shall come to him in one of the places where he can be found, and we will fall on him as the dew falls on the ground; and of him and of all the men who are with him, not even one will be left.

Contextual Overview

¹Next Ahithophel advised Absalom, "Let me handpick twelve thousand men and go after David tonight. I'll come on him when he's bone tired and take him by complete surprise. The whole army will run off and I'll kill only David. Then I'll bring the army back to you—a bride brought back to her husband! You're only after one man, after all. Then everyone will be together in peace!" ⁴ Absalom thought it was an excellent strategy, and all the elders of Israel agreed. ⁵ But then Absalom said, "Call in Hushai the Arkite—let's hear what he has to say." ⁶ So Hushai came and Absalom put it to him, "This is what Ahithophel advised. Should we do it? What do you say?" ⁷Hushai said, "The counsel that Ahithophel has given in this instance is not good. You know your father and his men, brave and bitterly angry—like a bear robbed of her cubs. And your father is an experienced fighter; you can be sure he won't be caught napping at a time like this. Even while we're talking, he's probably holed up in some cave or other. If he jumps your men from ambush, word will soon get back, ‘A slaughter of Absalom's army!' Even if your men are valiant with hearts of lions, they'll fall apart at such news, for everyone in Israel knows the kind of fighting stuff your father's made of, and also the men with him. ¹¹"Here's what I'd advise: Muster the whole country, from Dan to Beersheba, an army like the sand of the sea, and you personally lead them. We'll smoke him out wherever he is, fall on him like dew falls on the earth, and, believe me, there won't be a single survivor. If he hides out in a city, then the whole army will bring ropes to that city and pull it down and into a gully—not so much as a pebble left of it!" ¹⁴ Absalom and all his company agreed that the counsel of Hushai the Arkite was better than the counsel of Ahithophel. ( God had determined to discredit the counsel of Ahithophel so as to bring ruin on Absalom.)

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

in some place: 1 Samuel 23:23

we will light: This is a very beautiful and expressive figure. The dew in Palestine, and other warm climates, falls fast, sudden, and heavy; and it falls upon every spot of earth, so that not a blade of grass escapes it. It is therefore no inapt emblem of a numerous and active army; and it was, perhaps, for this reason that the Romans called their light armed forces rorarii. 1 Kings 20:10, 2 Kings 18:23, 2 Kings 19:24, Isaiah 10:13, Isaiah 10:14, Obadiah 1:3

Reciprocal: Psalms 71:4 - out of the

Cross-References

Genesis 17:22
God finished speaking with Abraham and left.

Genesis 17:23
Then Abraham took his son Ishmael and all his servants, whether houseborn or purchased—every male in his household—and circumcised them, cutting off their foreskins that very day, just as God had told him.

Luke 1:59
On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father. But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John."

Luke 2:21
When the eighth day arrived, the day of circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived.

Acts 7:8
"Then he made a covenant with him and signed it in Abraham's flesh by circumcision. When Abraham had his son Isaac, within eight days he reproduced the sign of circumcision in him. Isaac became father of Jacob, and Jacob father of twelve ‘fathers,' each faithfully passing on the covenant sign.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found,.... For such a numerous army, which would be spread abroad, could not well fail of finding him out, let him be in what lurking place he would; whereas he might lie concealed, and escape so small a number as twelve thousand men:

and we will light upon him as the dew falleth upon the ground; whose drops are innumerable, and cover all the ground where they fall; and the phrase not only expresses their numbers, but the irresistible force they should come with, and the manner, secretly, unawares, opportunely; the Romans had a sort of soldiers, called from the dew "rorarii", who carried light armour, and fought first in the battle, from whence they had their name, because dew falls before it rains n:

and of him, and of all the men that [are] with him, there shall not be left so much as one; so that for the future Absalom would sit easy upon the throne, there being none left to molest him.

n Valtrinus de Milit. Roman. l. 3. c. 3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

As the dew - Like the drops of dew, in the vast number of our host, and in our irresistible and unavoidable descent upon our enemies.