2 Samuel 3:1
in 2 Samuel 3Now the war between the house of Saul and the house of David was protracted. And David grew stronger and stronger, while the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: and David waxed stronger and stronger, but the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
KJV
Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThere was long war - Frequent battles and skirmishes took place between the followers of David and the followers of Ish-bosheth, after the two years mentioned above, to the end of the fifth year, in which Ish-bosheth was slain by Rechab and Baanah.
This site's exposition
waxed stronger and stronger
The chapter opens with the shape of the whole civil war stated as a single trend line rather than a battle count: David rising, the house of Saul falling, across what Clarke reckons as the two years after Ish-bosheth's crowning to his fifth year. Henry reads the verse a second way, as a picture of sanctification, grace waxing stronger against a weakening corruption, and gives it beside the plain history rather than instead of it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There is no need for us to discuss this point further, since the judgment of God is evident. Events prove what God judges about us and about the Goths and Vandals. They increase daily; we decrease daily. They prosper; we are humbled. They flourish; we …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Now there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David,....
There is a long war between them, the flesh lusted against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; but, as the work of sanctification is carried on, corruption, like the house of Saul, grows weaker and weaker; while grace, like the house of David, grows stronger and stronger, till it come to a perfect man, and judgment be brought forth unto victory.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David--The rival parties had varying success, but David's interest steadily increased; less, however, by the fortunes of war, than a growing adherence to him as the divinely designated king.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתְּהִ֤י | vatehi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַמִּלְחָמָה֙ | hamilchamah | the war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| אֲרֻכָּ֔ה | ʾarukah | long | H752 → | |
| בֵּ֚ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| שָׁא֔וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| וּבֵ֖ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| דָּוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְדָוִד֙ | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| הֹלֵ֣ךְ | holekh | [was] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְחָזֵ֔ק | vechazek | and strong | H2390 → | |
| וּבֵ֥ית | uveit | and [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| שָׁא֖וּל | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| הֹלְכִ֥ים | holekhim | [were] going | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְדַלִּֽים׃ ס | vedalim | and weak | H1800 → |
וַתְּהִ֤יand it was
vatehiH1961 →3559 times
הַמִּלְחָמָה֙the war
hamilchamahH4421 →320 times
אֲרֻכָּ֔הlong
ʾarukahH752 →
בֵּ֚יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
שָׁא֔וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
וּבֵ֖יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
דָּוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְדָוִד֙and David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
הֹלֵ֣ךְ[was] going
holekhH1980 →1546 times
וְחָזֵ֔קand strong
vechazekH2390 →
וּבֵ֥יתand [the] house of
uveitH1004 →2046 times
שָׁא֖וּלSaul
shaulH7586 →402 times
הֹלְכִ֥ים[were] going
holekhimH1980 →1546 times
וְדַלִּֽים׃ סand weak
vedalimH1800 →
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
Ephesians 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
it leads to
- Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
- 2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Ephesians 2:2
in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the…
- Colossians 2:15
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
- Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified…
- Colossians 1:13
Through
Job 8:7Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
it leads to
- Job 42:12–13
So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
- Matthew 13:31–32
He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.
- Proverbs 19:20
Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days.
- Job 42:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 7.11.