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2 Samuel 21:3

in 2 Samuel 21

So 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 verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Wherewith 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

wherewith shall I make the atonement

on 2 Samuel 21:3-4

David treats the famine as guilt requiring atonement rather than a misfortune to wait out, and he leaves the terms to the party that was wronged instead of setting them himself. The Gibeonites refuse silver and gold, for money was never the ancient payment for shed blood, and the law of Numbers 35 forbids ransoming a life for a price. What they ask is not vengeance on the nation but on Saul's own house, and they say so plainly, that no man in Israel besides Saul's line need answer for it. The distinction holds the rest of the chapter together, for this is Saul's house answering for Saul, not Israel punished in Saul's place.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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 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

  • 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.

Related verses

13 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”7 worksHebrews 9:22According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.4 works2 Samuel 20:19I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”4 works1 Samuel 26:19Now please, may my lord the king hear the words of his servant: If the LORD has stirred you up against me, then may He accept an offering. But if men have done it, may they be cursed in the presence of the LORD! For today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the LORD, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’3 worksLeviticus 1:4He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.2 works1 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 the LORD intended to put them to death.2 works
The other 7 cross-references, with their words ▾
Hebrews 10:4–12because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.2 worksMicah 6:6–7With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?2 worksExodus 32:30The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. Now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”2 worksExodus 30:15In making the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives, the rich shall not give more than a half shekel, nor shall the poor give less.2 works1 Kings 1:47The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more famous than your own name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ And the king has bowed in worship on his bed,2 worksNumbers 25:13It will be a covenant of permanent priesthood for him and his descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the Israelites.”2 worksPsalms 28:9Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; shepherd them and carry them forever.1 works

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

    Hebrews 9:22

    According 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…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 2:25

    If 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…

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Rizpah’s Kindness toward the Dead — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 21 →

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.

Read on in 2 Samuel 21 →