2 Samuel 17:2
in 2 Samuel 17I will attack him while he is weak and weary; I will throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will flee; I will strike down only the king
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and will make him afraid; and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only;
KJV
And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But his dexterity was chiefly displayed in that part of his counsel which recommended a general levy throughout the country; and that Absalom should take command of it in person--thereby flattering at once the pride and ambition of the usurper. The bait was caught by the vainglorious and wicked prince.
This site's exposition
Let me choose twelve thousand men
on 2 Samuel 17:1-3
Ahithophel asks for twelve thousand men and a strike that night. He means to “strike down only the king” and “bring all the people back to you as a bride returning to her husband”. Matthew Henry sets the plan beside the counsel of Caiaphas, one man dying for the nation.
This site's exposition
while he is weak and weary
Ahithophel counts on the state of David's company after the flight, which had arrived weary at 16:14. A strike that same night would find them spent. Matthew Henry sets the plan beside the tenants' scheme against the heir at Matthew 21:38 and says both counsels were turned into foolishness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There is nothing so foreign to a Christian soul as haughtiness. Haughtiness, I say, not boldness nor courage, for these are congenial. But these are one thing, and that another; so too humility is one thing, and meanness, flattery, and adulation another. I will now, if you wish, give you examples of all these qualities. For these things which are contraries, seem in some way to be placed near together, as the tares to the wheat, and the thorns to the rose. But while babes might easily be deceived, they who are men in truth, and are skilled in spiritual husbandry, know how to separate what is really good from the bad. Let me then lay before you examples of these qualities from the Scriptures. What is flattery, and meanness, and adulation? Ziba flattered David out of season, and falsely slandered his master. Much more did Ahitophel flatter Absalom. But David was not so, but he was humble. For the deceitful are flatterers, as when they say, "O king, live for ever." Again, what flatterers the magicians are.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Let that one man die for the people, John xi. Kill the heir, and the inheritance shall be ours, Matt. xxi. But the counsel of them both was turned into foolishness.
And I will come upon him while he is weary,....
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָב֣וֹא | veavo' | so I may come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלָ֗יו | ʾalav | on him | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וְה֤וּא | vehu' | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יָגֵ֙עַ֙ | yagea' | [will be] weary | H3023 → | |
| וּרְפֵ֣ה | urepeh | and slack of | H7504 → | |
| יָדַ֔יִם | yadayim | hands | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְהַֽחֲרַדְתִּ֣י | vehacharadti | and I will terrify | H2729 → | |
| אֹת֔וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְנָ֖ס | venas | and <it> will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֣ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּ֑וֹ | ʾito | [is] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י | vehikeiti | and I will strike down | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לְבַדּֽוֹ׃ | levado | to only him | H905 → | 200 times |
וְאָב֣וֹאso I may come
veavo'H935 →2568 times
עָלָ֗יוon him
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
וְה֤וּאand he
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
יָגֵ֙עַ֙[will be] weary
yagea'H3023 →
וּרְפֵ֣הand slack of
urepehH7504 →
יָדַ֔יִםhands
yadayimH3027 →1618 times
וְהַֽחֲרַדְתִּ֣יand I will terrify
vehacharadtiH2729 →
אֹת֔וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וְנָ֖סand <it> will flee
venasH5127 →159 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֣םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אִתּ֑וֹ[is] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
וְהִכֵּיתִ֥יand I will strike down
vehikeitiH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לְבַדּֽוֹ׃to only him
levadoH905 →200 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Matthew 26:31Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be…
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:7
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against…
- John 16:32
“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Mark 14:27–28
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
- Ezekiel 34:5–6
They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.
- Zechariah 13:7
Through
Zechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against…
it leads to
- Mark 14:27
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
- Matthew 26:31
Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be…
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Mark 14:50
Then everyone deserted Him and fled.
- Mark 14:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON PHILIPPIANS 5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.