2 Samuel 3:28
in 2 Samuel 3Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And afterward, when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before Jehovah for ever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
KJV
And afterward when David heard it, he said, I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord for ever from the blood of Abner the son of Ner:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 3
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIt is a comfort to be able to say, when any bad thing is done, that we had no hand in it. We have not shed this blood, Deut. xxi. However we may be censured or suspected, our hearts shall not reproach us.
This site's exposition
guiltless before the Lord for ever
on 2 Samuel 3:28-30
David's declaration puts the whole crime on Joab's house by name, a curse naming issue, leprosy, the crutch of the lame, death by the sword and want of bread across generations, and Barnes reads the curse itself as proof David did not accept Joab's claim to have acted as an avenger of blood under the law. The narrator names Abishai beside Joab as guilty of the same killing, though Joab alone struck the blow, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle answers the crime to Asahel's death and to nothing else Abner had done.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Although he [Saul] was a king, he sinned if he killed the innocent.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
David's Wives and Children. 1 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. 2 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v1-3
And afterward, when David heard it,....
He washed his hands from the guilt of Abner's blood. Lest any should suspect that Joab had some secret intimation from David to do as he did (and the rather because he went so long unpunished), he here solemnly appeals to God concerning his innocency: I and my kingdom are guiltless (and my kingdom is so because I am so) before the Lord for ever,
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע | vaiyishma' | and he heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דָּוִד֙ | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| מֵאַ֣חֲרֵי | meacharei | from after | H310 → | 715 times |
| כֵ֔ן | khen | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| נָקִ֨י | naki | [am] innocent | H5355 → | |
| אָנֹכִ֧י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| וּמַמְלַכְתִּ֛י | umamlakhti | and kingdom my | H4467 → | 117 times |
| מֵעִ֥ם | meim | from with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָ֑ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| מִדְּמֵ֖י | midemei | from [the] blood<s> of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| אַבְנֵ֥ר | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| נֵֽר׃ | ner | Ner | H5369 → | 17 times |
וַיִּשְׁמַ֤עand he heard
vaiyishma'H8085 →1159 times
דָּוִד֙David
davidH1732 →999 times
מֵאַ֣חֲרֵיfrom after
meachareiH310 →715 times
כֵ֔ןthus
khenH3651 →771 times
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
נָקִ֨י[am] innocent
nakiH5355 →
אָנֹכִ֧יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
וּמַמְלַכְתִּ֛יand kingdom my
umamlakhtiH4467 →117 times
מֵעִ֥םfrom with
meimH5973 →1050 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָ֑םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
מִדְּמֵ֖יfrom [the] blood<s> of
midemeiH1818 →360 times
אַבְנֵ֥רAbner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
נֵֽר׃Ner
nerH5369 →17 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
Genesis 4:10“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
- Psalms 72:14
He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their blood is precious in his sight.
- Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he…
- Isaiah 5:7
For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of His delight. He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but…
- Hebrews 12:24
Through
Genesis 9:6Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.
it leads to
- Leviticus 24:17
And if a man takes the life of anyone else, he must surely be put to death.
- Matthew 26:52
“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.
- Revelation 13:10
“If anyone is destined for captivity, into captivity he will go; if anyone is to die by the sword, by the sword he must be killed.” Here is a call for the perseverance and…
- Numbers 35:33
Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the…
- Leviticus 24:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 51.10-11; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.