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2 Samuel 10:3

in 2 Samuel 10

the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, “Just because David has sent you comforters, do you really believe he is showing respect for your father? Has not David instead sent his servants to explore the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father, in that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David sent his servants unto thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

KJV

And the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Thinkest thou that David doth honour thy father, that he hath sent comforters unto thee? hath not David rather sent his servants unto thee, to search the city, and to spy it out, and to overthrow it?

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This verse in 2 Samuel 10

Commentary

6 notes on this verse
The princes ... - Compare Rehoboam’s advisers 1Ki 12:10-11. It is not improbable that David’s severe treatment of Moab 2Sa 8:2 was in part the cause of the fear of the Ammonites that a similar treatment was in store for themselves.

This site's exposition

the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord

on 2 Samuel 10:3-4

The princes read an act of respect as spying, and Hanun believes them. He shaves off half of each man's beard and cuts their garments, an insult in a culture where the beard was a man's honor. The outrage falls on the nation that sent them.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Unfounded suspicion argues a wicked mind. Bishop Patrick's note on this is that "there is nothing so well meant but it may be ill interpreted, and is wont to be so by men who love nobody but themselves." Men of the greatest honour and virtue must not think it strange if they be thus misrepresented.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

the princes of the children of Ammon said unto Hanun--Their suspicion was not warranted either by any overt act or by any cherished design of David: it must have originated in their knowledge of the denunciations of God's law against them (De 23:3-6), and of David's policy in steadfastly adhering to it.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Thinkest thou that David doth honor thy father - It has been a matter of just complaint through all the history of mankind, that there is little sincerity in courts. Courtiers, especially, are suspicious of each other, and often mislead their sovereigns. They feel themselves to be insincere, and suspect others to be so too.

The words behind it

28 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּאמְרוּ֩and they said

    vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times

  • שָׂרֵ֨י[the] leaders of

    sareiH8269 →421 times

  • בְנֵֽי־[the] people of

    venei-H1121 →4930 times

  • עַמּ֜וֹןAmmon

    amonH5983 →106 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • חָנ֣וּןHanun

    chanunH2586 →11 times

  • אֲדֹֽנֵיהֶ֗םlord<s> their

    ʾadoneihemH113 →333 times

  • הַֽמְכַבֵּ֨ד¿ honoring

    hamkhabedH3513 →113 times

  • דָּוִ֤ד[is] David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אָבִ֙יךָ֙father your

    ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times

  • בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָin view your

    beeineikhaH5869 →887 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • שָׁלַ֥חhe has sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • לְךָ֖to <the> you

    lekha

  • מְנַֽחֲמִ֑יםcomforters

    menachamimH5162 →108 times

  • הֲ֠לוֹא¿ not

    halo'H3808 →5168 times

  • בַּעֲב֞וּרin order

    baavurH5668 →49 times

  • חֲק֤וֹרto explore

    chakorH2713 →

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הָעִיר֙the city

    hairH5892 →1090 times

  • וּלְרַגְּלָ֣הּand to spy on it

    uleragelahH7270 →25 times

  • וּלְהָפְכָ֔הּand to overthrow it

    ulehafekhahH2015 →

  • שָׁלַ֥חhas he sent

    shalachH7971 →845 times

  • דָּוִ֛דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • עֲבָדָ֖יוservants his

    ʾavadavH5650 →799 times

  • אֵלֶֽיךָ׃to you

    ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

7 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Genesis 42:9Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”3 worksGenesis 42:16Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be confined so that the truth of your words may be tested. If they are untrue, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!”3 worksJoshua 2:3So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.”3 worksRomans 2:3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?3 works1 Corinthians 13:7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.2 works1 Corinthians 13:5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.2 works
The other 1 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Samuel 3:25Surely you realize that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you and to track your movements and all that you are doing.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Corinthians 13:7

    It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    it leads to

    • 1 Peter 4:8

      Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

    • 1 Corinthians 13:4

      Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

    • 1 Peter 2:24

      He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”

    • 2 Timothy 2:24

      And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

    • Proverbs 10:12

      Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all transgressions.

  • Through

    1 Corinthians 13:5

    It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 10:24

      No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.

    • Philippians 2:3–5

      Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.

    • 1 John 3:16–17

      By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Attacks the Ammonites — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Attacks the Ammonites — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 10 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 10 →