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2 Samuel 20:4

in 2 Samuel 20

Then the king said to Amasa, “Summon the men of Judah to come to me within three days, and be here yourself.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then said the king to Amasa, Call me the men of Judah together within three days, and be thou here present.

KJV

Then said the king to Amasa, Assemble me the men of Judah within three days, and be thou here present.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 20

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Then said the king to Amasa - Thus he invests him with the command of the army, and sends him to collect the men of Judah, and to come back to receive his orders in relation to Sheba, in three days. It appears that Amasa found more difficulty in collecting his country-men than was at first supposed; and this detaining him beyond the three days, David, fearing that Sheba’s rebellion would get head, sent Abishai, who it appears was accompanied by Joab, to pursue after Sheba.

This site's exposition

within three days, and be thou here present

on 2 Samuel 20:4-5

David gives Amasa, Absalom's own general during the rebellion, command of the army he promised him at 19:13, a public bid to fold the rebel tribes back into the kingdom by honoring their commander. Amasa cannot raise the men of Judah on David's schedule, and the text does not say why, whether Judah is slow to serve under him or he is simply slow. The delay leaves a gap David cannot afford with Sheba still loose, and it is the door Joab will use to take back the post David just gave away.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

But most love a loyalty, as well as a religion, that is cheap and easy. Many boast of their being akin to Christ that yet are very loth to venture for him. Amasa is sent to assemble the men of Judah within three days; but he finds them so backward and unready that he cannot do it within the time appointed (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

Then said the king to Amasa,....

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

The revolt of the ten tribes, probably, hastened the public declaration of this appointment, which he hoped would be popular with them, and Amasa was ordered within three days to levy a force from Judah sufficient to put down the insurrection. The appointment was a blunder, and the king soon perceived his error.
To Amasa ... - Evidently feeling his way toward fulfilling the promise to Amasa (marginal reference).

The words behind it

14 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.

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • אֶל־to

    ʾel-H413 →5510 times

  • עֲמָשָׂ֔אAmasa

    ʾamasa'H6021 →16 times

  • הַזְעֶק־summon

    hazek-H2199 →73 times

  • לִ֥יto <the> me

    li

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • אִישׁ־[the] man of

    ʾish-H376 →1663 times

  • יְהוּדָ֖הJudah

    yehudahH3063 →819 times

  • שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁתthree

    sheloshetH7969 →432 times

  • יָמִ֑יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • וְאַתָּ֖הand you

    veatahH859 →1094 times

  • פֹּ֥הhere

    pohH6311 →

  • עֲמֹֽד׃stand

    ʾamodH5975 →521 times

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

Related verses

4 in all, six open

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 Chronicles 2:17

    Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 17:25

      Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 17:25

    Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah…

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 19:13

      And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Kings 2:32

      The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Kings 2:5

      Moreover, you know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether, the two commanders of the armies of Israel. He killed them…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Chronicles 2:13

      Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third,

    • 2 Samuel 20:9–12

      “Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 19:13

    And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”

    it leads to

    • Ruth 1:17

      Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

    • 1 Kings 19:2

      So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those…

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 20 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 20 →