2 Samuel 18:3
in 2 Samuel 18But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will pay no attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not care; but you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better for now if you support us from the city.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city.
KJV
But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut now thou art worth ten thousand of us - The particle יתה attah, now, is doubtless a mistake for the pronoun אתה attah, thou; and so it appears to have been read by the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and the Chaldee, and by two of Kennicott’s and De Rossi’s MSS.
This site's exposition
captains of thousands and captains of hundreds
on 2 Samuel 18:1-3
David numbers the men who have stayed loyal to him and divides them into three companies under Joab, Abishai and Ittai the Gittite, then tells them he means to go out with them himself. The people refuse him outright: if the army breaks and flees no one will care, and if half of them fall no one will care, but the king is worth ten thousand of them and safer inside the city walls. Josephus counted this loyal army at only about four thousand men, a small remnant beside the host that followed Absalom out of Hebron in chapter fifteen.
This site's exposition
worth ten thousand of us
The people tell the king he is worth ten thousand. Adam Clarke takes the Hebrew word now as a copying slip for the similar word meaning you, as the Septuagint, Vulgate and Chaldee read it. Albert Barnes explains the plan that David support the troops from the city, ready to send help or to take in a beaten army.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But the people answered, thou shalt not go forth,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Succour us out of the city - David, with a reserve, would hold the city, and either support the bands in case of need, or receive them within the walls should they be compelled to flee.
The words behind it
31 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 it said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הָעָ֜ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֵצֵ֗א | tetze' | you must go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| נֹ֨ס | nos | certainly [if] <to flee> | H5127 → | 159 times |
| נָנ֜וּס | nanus | we will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשִׂ֧ימוּ | yasimu | they will set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֵלֵ֣ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵ֗ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יָמֻ֤תוּ | yamutu | they will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| חֶצְיֵ֙נוּ֙ | chetzyenu | half of us | H2677 → | 125 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשִׂ֤ימוּ | yasimu | they will set | H7760 → | 584 times |
| אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵ֔ב | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַתָּ֥ה | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כָמֹ֖נוּ | khamonu | like us | H3644 → | 143 times |
| עֲשָׂרָ֣ה | ʾasarah | ten | H6235 → | 176 times |
| אֲלָפִ֑ים | ʾalafim | thousand<s> | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְעַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| ט֔וֹב | tov | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תִֽהְיֶה־ | tihyeh- | you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָּ֥נוּ | lanu | <to> <the> us | ||
| מֵעִ֖יר | meir | from [the] city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לַעְזֽוֹר׃ ס | la'zir | to help | H5826 → | 81 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand it said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הָעָ֜םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תֵצֵ֗אyou must go out
tetze'H3318 →1067 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
נֹ֨סcertainly [if] <to flee>
nosH5127 →159 times
נָנ֜וּסwe will flee
nanusH5127 →159 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָשִׂ֧ימוּthey will set
yasimuH7760 →584 times
אֵלֵ֣ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
לֵ֗בheart
levH3820 →595 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
יָמֻ֤תוּthey will die
yamutuH4191 →839 times
חֶצְיֵ֙נוּ֙half of us
chetzyenuH2677 →125 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָשִׂ֤ימוּthey will set
yasimuH7760 →584 times
אֵלֵ֙ינוּ֙to us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
לֵ֔בheart
levH3820 →595 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עַתָּ֥הnow
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
כָמֹ֖נוּlike us
khamonuH3644 →143 times
עֲשָׂרָ֣הten
ʾasarahH6235 →176 times
אֲלָפִ֑יםthousand<s>
ʾalafimH505 →505 times
וְעַתָּ֣הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
ט֔וֹב[is] good
tovH2896 →538 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תִֽהְיֶה־you will be
tihyeh-H1961 →3559 times
לָּ֥נוּ<to> <the> us
lanu
מֵעִ֖ירfrom [the] city
meirH5892 →1090 times
לַעְזֽוֹר׃ סto help
la'zirH5826 →81 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
2 Samuel 21:17But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You must never again go out with us to battle, so that the…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 11:36
I will give one tribe to his son, so that My servant David will always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put My Name.
- Psalms 132:17
There I will make a horn grow for David; I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.
- 1 Kings 15:4
Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.
- 1 Kings 11:36
Through
2 Samuel 17:2I 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
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:14
Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
- 1 Kings 22:31
Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
- 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…
- 2 Samuel 16:14
Through
Lamentations 4:20The LORD’s anointed, the breath of our life, was captured in their pits. We had said of him, “Under his shadow we will live among the nations.”
it leads to
- Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
- Ezekiel 12:13
But I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, and…
- Genesis 2:7
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.