2 Samuel 11:25
in 2 Samuel 11Then David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him with these words.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another; make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
KJV
Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it: and encourage thou him.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 11
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe sword devoureth one as well as another - What abominable hypocrisy was here! He well knew that Uriah’s death was no chance-medley; he was by his own order thrust on the edge of the sword.
This site's exposition
the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say
on 2 Samuel 11:22-25
The messenger delivers the account, and Uriah's death comes last. David's reply is ready: “Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another”. David alone knows the death was ordered, and he closes by telling Joab to strengthen the attack on the city.
This site's exposition
for the sword devours one as well as another
Matthew Henry says that once Uriah was dead, David could make light of every other loss as a common chance of war. Adam Clarke answers that David himself had ordered it. David closes by sending comfort to Joab.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
We have taken up the task of writing an apology for the present style of the prophet David, not because he needs this gift, who has excelled in such great merits and flourished in virtues, but because many people, reading the sequence of his deeds without considering the power of the Scriptures or the hidden mysteries, wonder how such a great prophet did not avoid the contagion of adultery first and then of murder. Therefore, it was our desire to review the history itself, which seems to have been exposed to sin.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
This point being gained, he can make light of the loss, and turn it off easily with an excuse: The sword devours one as well as another; it was a chance of war, nothing more common. He orders Joab to make the battle more strong next time, while he, by his sin, was weakening it, and provoking God to blast the undertaking.
Then David said to the messenger,....
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמַּלְאָ֗ךְ | hamalakh | the messenger | H4397 → | 213 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| תֹאמַ֤ר | tomar | you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹאָב֙ | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| יֵרַ֤ע | yera' | it be displeasing | H7489 → | 107 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֣ר | hadavar | the thing | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָזֹ֥ה | khazoh | like this | H2090 → | |
| וְכָזֶ֖ה | vekhazeh | and like this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| תֹּאכַ֣ל | tokhal | it devours | H398 → | 810 times |
| הֶחָ֑רֶב | hecharev | the sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| הַחֲזֵ֨ק | hachazek | strengthen | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מִלְחַמְתְּךָ֧ | milchamtekha | battle your | H4421 → | 320 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעִ֛יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְהָרְסָ֖הּ | veharesah | and tear down it | H2040 → | |
| וְחַזְּקֵֽהוּ׃ | vechazekehu | and encourage him | H2388 → | 291 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמַּלְאָ֗ךְthe messenger
hamalakhH4397 →213 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
תֹאמַ֤רyou will say
tomarH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹאָב֙Joab
yoavH3097 →144 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
יֵרַ֤עit be displeasing
yera'H7489 →107 times
בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙in view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֣רthe thing
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כָזֹ֥הlike this
khazohH2090 →
וְכָזֶ֖הand like this
vekhazehH2088 →1180 times
תֹּאכַ֣לit devours
tokhalH398 →810 times
הֶחָ֑רֶבthe sword
hecharevH2719 →413 times
הַחֲזֵ֨קstrengthen
hachazekH2388 →291 times
מִלְחַמְתְּךָ֧battle your
milchamtekhaH4421 →320 times
אֶל־against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעִ֛ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְהָרְסָ֖הּand tear down it
veharesahH2040 →
וְחַזְּקֵֽהוּ׃and encourage him
vechazekehuH2388 →291 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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 12:26Meanwhile, Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal fortress.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 20:1–3
In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained…
- Deuteronomy 3:11
(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
- 1 Chronicles 20:1–3
Through
1 Samuel 6:9but keep watching it. If it goes up the road to its homeland, toward Beth-shemesh, it is the LORD who has brought on us this great disaster. But if it does not, then we…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 1:6
“I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” he replied, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and the cavalry closing in on him.
- Luke 10:31
Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
- Joshua 15:10
The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
- 1 Samuel 6:3
They replied, “If you return the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it away empty, but by all means return it to Him with a guilt offering. Then you will be…
- Joshua 21:16
Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands.
- 2 Samuel 1:6
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, Apology for the Prophet David, Chapter 1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.