2 Samuel 21:3
in 2 Samuel 21So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?
KJV
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWherewith shall I make the atonement - It is very strange that a choice of this kind should be left to such a people. Why not ask this of God himself?
This site's exposition
How can I make amends
on 2 Samuel 21:3-4
David asks the Gibeonites how he can make amends and leaves the terms to the party that was wronged. They want “no silver or gold from Saul or his house”. They will have no one in Israel put to death, so the debt stays with Saul’s own house.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is sad for any family or nation to have the prayers of oppressed innocency against them, and therefore the expense of a just restitution is well bestowed for the retrieving of the blessing of those that were ready to perish, Job xxix.
14, 15 ); and they are recompensed for their patience with this honour, that they are made judges in their own case, and have a blank given them to write their demands on: What you shall say, that will I do (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, what shall I do for you,.... By way of satisfaction for the injuries done them: and wherewith shall I make the atonement; for the offences committed, that so the wrath that was gone forth against the land in a famine might be appeased: that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord? pray for a blessing upon the land which the Lord had chosen for his inheritance, and given as such to the people of Israel, that rain might descend upon it, and make it fruitful.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַגִּבְעֹנִ֔ים | hagivonim | the Gibeonites | H1393 → | 7 times |
| מָ֥ה | mah | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה | ʾeeseh | will I do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָכֶ֑ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| וּבַמָּ֣ה | uvamah | and <in> how? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אֲכַפֵּ֔ר | ʾakhaper | will I make amends | H3722 → | |
| וּבָרְכ֖וּ | uvarekhu | and bless | H1288 → | 330 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַחֲלַ֥ת | nachalat | [the] inheritance of | H5159 → | 222 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַגִּבְעֹנִ֔יםthe Gibeonites
hagivonimH1393 →7 times
מָ֥הwhat?
mahH4100 →752 times
אֶעֱשֶׂ֖הwill I do
ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times
לָכֶ֑םfor <the> you
lakhem
וּבַמָּ֣הand <in> how?
uvamahH4100 →752 times
אֲכַפֵּ֔רwill I make amends
ʾakhaperH3722 →
וּבָרְכ֖וּand bless
uvarekhuH1288 →330 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַחֲלַ֥ת[the] inheritance of
nachalatH5159 →222 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Hebrews 9:22According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
it leads to
- Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement…
- Leviticus 6:7
In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”
- Leviticus 4:35
And he shall remove all the fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the peace offerings, and he shall burn it on the altar along with the offerings made by…
- Leviticus 5:18
He is to bring to the priest an unblemished ram of proper value from the flock as a guilt offering. Then the priest will make atonement on his behalf for the wrong he has…
- Leviticus 14:14
The priest is to take some of the blood from the guilt offering and put it on the right earlobe of the one to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and…
- Leviticus 17:11
Through
1 Samuel 2:25If a man sins against another man, God can intercede for him; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to their father, since…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:14
Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, ‘The iniquity of Eli’s house shall never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.’”
- Hebrews 10:26
If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,
- Joshua 11:20
For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts to engage Israel in battle, so that they would be set apart for destruction and would receive no mercy, being annihilated as the LORD…
- 1 Samuel 3:14
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.