2 Samuel 3:35
in 2 Samuel 3Then all the people came and urged David to eat something while it was still day, but David took an oath, saying, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David sware, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down.
KJV
And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
if I taste bread, or ought else
on 2 Samuel 3:35-37
David fasts publicly until sundown and swears the same self-cursing oath Abner used at verse 9, so do God to me and more also, and the people read his refusal to eat as proof of a grief they could not have staged for him. Spurgeon preached the episode as the moment Joab's treachery first compromised a reign otherwise marked by justice, and the chapter records the verdict the fast was meant to earn: all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It was then the custom of great mourners to refrain for the time from bodily refreshments, as ch. i. How incongruous is it then to turn the house of mourning into a house of feasting! This respect which David paid to Abner was very pleasing to the people and satisfied them that he was not, in the least, accessory to the murder (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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 when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
To eat meat ... - Fasting was a sign of the deepest mourning 2Sa 1:12. The fast lasted until the sun was set.
The words behind it
28 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֣א | vaiyavo' | and it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעָ֗ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| לְהַבְר֧וֹת | lehavrot | to make to eat | H1262 → | 6 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּוִ֛ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֶ֖חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| בְּע֣וֹד | beod | while still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| הַיּ֑וֹם | haiyom | <the> day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁבַ֨ע | vaiyishava' | and he swore an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| דָּוִ֜ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֣ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂה־ | yaaseh- | may he do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִּ֤י | li | to <the> me | ||
| אֱלֹהִים֙ | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְכֹ֣ה | vekhoh | and thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| יֹסִ֔יף | yosif | may he add | H3254 → | 212 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לִפְנֵ֧י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| בֽוֹא־ | vo'- | goes | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁ | hashemesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| אֶטְעַם־ | ʾetam- | I will taste | H2938 → | |
| לֶ֖חֶם | lechem | bread | H3899 → | 298 times |
| א֥וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| כָל־ | khol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מְאֽוּמָה׃ | meumah | anything | H3972 → |
וַיָּבֹ֣אand it came
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעָ֗םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
לְהַבְר֧וֹתto make to eat
lehavrotH1262 →6 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דָּוִ֛דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לֶ֖חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
בְּע֣וֹדwhile still
beodH5750 →490 times
הַיּ֑וֹם<the> day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֨עand he swore an oath
vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times
דָּוִ֜דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֣הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
יַעֲשֶׂה־may he do
yaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לִּ֤יto <the> me
li
אֱלֹהִים֙God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
וְכֹ֣הand thus
vekhohH3541 →577 times
יֹסִ֔יףmay he add
yosifH3254 →212 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לִפְנֵ֧י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
בֽוֹא־goes
vo'-H935 →2568 times
הַשֶּׁ֛מֶשׁthe sun
hashemeshH8121 →134 times
אֶטְעַם־I will taste
ʾetam-H2938 →
לֶ֖חֶםbread
lechemH3899 →298 times
א֥וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
כָל־all
khol-H3605 →5413 times
מְאֽוּמָה׃anything
meumahH3972 →
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
Jeremiah 16:7No food will be offered to comfort those who mourn the dead; not even a cup of consolation will be given for the loss of a father or mother.
it leads to
- Hosea 9:4
They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 24:17
Groan quietly; do not mourn for the dead. Put on your turban and strap your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips or eat the bread of mourners.”
- Deuteronomy 26:14
I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God;…
- Hosea 9:4
Through
Ruth 1:17Where 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.”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 3:17
“What was the message He gave you?” Eli asked. “Do not hide it from me. May God punish you, and ever so severely, if you hide from me anything He said to you.”
- 1 Kings 2:23
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD: “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if Adonijah has not made this request at the expense of his life.
- 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!’”
- 2 Kings 6:31
He announced, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders through this day!”
- 1 Kings 20:10
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
- 1 Samuel 3:17
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2420, The King Can Do No Wrong; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
