2 Samuel 3:31
in 2 Samuel 3Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David followed the bier.
KJV
And David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner. And king David himself followed the bier.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 3
Commentary
7 notes on this verseJoab - Him he especially obliged to it, to bring him to repentance for his sin, and to expose him to public shame. Followed - That is, attending upon his corps, and paying him that respect which was due to his quality.
This site's exposition
followed the bier
on 2 Samuel 3:31-32
David orders the whole camp into mourning, Joab included, and then walks behind Abner's own bier himself, a public act JFB reads as sincere grief given a public form rather than grief alone. He weeps again at the grave with all the people, and Henry reads the honor paid to a man who had been David's enemy through most of the chapter as proof that David bore Abner no private malice even while he could not yet bring Joab to account for killing him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): Rend your clothes and mourn before Abner, that is, before the hearse of Abner, as Abraham is said to mourn before his dead ( Gen. xxiii. 2, 3 ), and he gives a reason why they should attend his funeral with sincere and solemn mourning (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
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 David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
David said to Joab, and to all the people that were with him, Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth--David's sorrow was sincere and profound, and he took occasion to give it public expression by the funeral honors he appointed for Abner.
David said to Joab - He commanded him to take on him the part of a principal mourner.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| דָּוִ֨ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹאָ֜ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֣ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אִתּ֗וֹ | ʾito | [was] with him | H854 → | 929 times |
| קִרְע֤וּ | kiru | tear | H7167 → | 63 times |
| בִגְדֵיכֶם֙ | vigdeikhem | garments your | H899 → | 217 times |
| וְחִגְר֣וּ | vechigru | and gird yourselves | H2296 → | 44 times |
| שַׂקִּ֔ים | sakim | sackcloth<s> | H8242 → | 49 times |
| וְסִפְד֖וּ | vesifdu | and mourn | H5594 → | 30 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| אַבְנֵ֑ר | ʾavner | Abner | H74 → | 63 times |
| וְהַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | vehamelekh | and the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| הֹלֵ֖ךְ | holekh | [was] walking | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֥י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַמִּטָּֽה׃ | hamitah | the bier | H4296 → |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
דָּוִ֨דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹאָ֜בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֣םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אִתּ֗וֹ[was] with him
ʾitoH854 →929 times
קִרְע֤וּtear
kiruH7167 →63 times
בִגְדֵיכֶם֙garments your
vigdeikhemH899 →217 times
וְחִגְר֣וּand gird yourselves
vechigruH2296 →44 times
שַׂקִּ֔יםsackcloth<s>
sakimH8242 →49 times
וְסִפְד֖וּand mourn
vesifduH5594 →30 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
אַבְנֵ֑רAbner
ʾavnerH74 →63 times
וְהַמֶּ֣לֶךְand the king
vehamelekhH4428 →2525 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
הֹלֵ֖ךְ[was] walking
holekhH1980 →1546 times
אַחֲרֵ֥יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַמִּטָּֽה׃the bier
hamitahH4296 →
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
Joshua 7:6Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
it leads to
- Genesis 37:29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 37:34
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Lamentations 2:10
The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to…
- Revelation 18:19
Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her…
- Genesis 37:29
Through
2 Samuel 1:2On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.
it leads to
- Joshua 7:6
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 4:12
That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
- Joshua 7:6
Through
2 Samuel 1:11Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 13:31
Then the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
- 2 Samuel 13:31
Through
Genesis 37:34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
it leads to
- Job 1:20
Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 1:20
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.