1 Chronicles 20:3
in 1 Chronicles 20David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes. And he did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he brought forth the people that were therein, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. And thus did David unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
KJV
And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. And David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
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This verse in 1 Chronicles 20
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
cut them with saws, &c.--The Hebrew word, "cut them," is, with the difference of the final letter, the same as that rendered "put them," in the parallel passage of Samuel [2Sa 12:31]; and many consider that putting them to saws, axes, and so forth, means nothing more than that David condemned the inhabitants of Rabbah to hard and penal servitude.
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This site's exposition
In the spring
on 1 Chronicles 20:1-3
The campaign against Rabbah opens with the words that open 2 Samuel 11:1, “at the time when kings march out to war”. Between “David remained in Jerusalem” and the fall of the city, 2 Samuel 11-12 records Bathsheba, Uriah's death, Nathan's rebuke and Solomon's birth.
This site's exposition
saws, iron picks, and axes
The people of Rabbah are set to labor with saws, iron picks and axes, and every Ammonite city receives the same. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Hebrew word here differs by one final letter from the word in 2 Samuel 12:31. Many read both as hard forced labor.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
21 ), so here in the conquest of the Philistines the giants of Gath were last brought down. In the conflicts between grace and corruption there are some sins which, like these giants, keep their ground a great while and are not mastered without much difficulty and a long struggle: but judgment will be brought forth unto victory at last.
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The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He brought out the people - See this transaction particularly explained in the notes on the parallel places, 2Sa 12:30-31 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Vayyasar with a saw. [David] crushed [the people of Rabbah] with a saw.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Now it came to pass after this that a war arose in Gezer That which is missing here is written in Samuel (II:15): “And the Philistines waged war again with Israel, and David went down with his servants and they fought against the Philistines.
[The crown] was placed on David’s head. [Interpreters] ask (e.g., Pseudo-Rashi): How could he have withstood it, when it weighed a talent of gold?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
22 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֨ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בָּ֜הּ | bah | [was] in it | ||
| הוֹצִ֗יא | hotzi' | he brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וַיָּ֨שַׂר | vaiyasar | and he sawed | H7787 → | |
| בַּמְּגֵרָ֜ה | bamegerah | with <the> saw | H4050 → | |
| וּבַחֲרִיצֵ֤י | uvacharitzei | and with [the] sharp instruments of | H2757 → | |
| הַבַּרְזֶל֙ | habarzel | <the> iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| וּבַמְּגֵר֔וֹת | uvamegerot | and with <the> saws | H4050 → | |
| וְכֵן֙ | vekhen | and thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה | yaaseh | he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| דָוִ֔יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרֵ֣י | ʾarei | [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| בְנֵי־ | venei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עַמּ֑וֹן | amon | Ammon | H5983 → | 106 times |
| וַיָּ֧שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| דָּוִ֛יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ פ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הָעָ֨םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בָּ֜הּ[was] in it
bah
הוֹצִ֗יאhe brought out
hotzi'H3318 →1067 times
וַיָּ֨שַׂרand he sawed
vaiyasarH7787 →
בַּמְּגֵרָ֜הwith <the> saw
bamegerahH4050 →
וּבַחֲרִיצֵ֤יand with [the] sharp instruments of
uvacharitzeiH2757 →
הַבַּרְזֶל֙<the> iron
habarzelH1270 →76 times
וּבַמְּגֵר֔וֹתand with <the> saws
uvamegerotH4050 →
וְכֵן֙and thus
vekhenH3651 →771 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֣הhe did
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
דָוִ֔ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לְכֹ֖לto all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
עָרֵ֣י[the] cities of
ʾareiH5892 →1090 times
בְנֵי־[the] people of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
עַמּ֑וֹןAmmon
amonH5983 →106 times
וַיָּ֧שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
דָּוִ֛ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ פJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 12:31David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 8:2
David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one…
- Amos 1:3
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- Psalms 21:8–9
Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.
- 2 Samuel 8:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.