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2 Samuel 8:15

in 2 Samuel 8

Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed justice and righteousness unto all his people.

KJV

And David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.

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This verse in 2 Samuel 8

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

Herein he was a type of Christ, who was faithful and true, and who doth in righteousness both judge and make war, Rev. xix. He kept good order and good officers in his court. David being the first king that had an established government (for Saul's reign was short and unsettled) he had the modelling of the administration.

This site's exposition

executed judgment and justice unto all his people

The war record turns here to the throne at home, and this single line is the standard the book measures every king by. David's own last words name the same phrase as the mark of a just ruler at 23:3, he that ruleth over men must be just, so the summary states first what the dying king will later say he aimed at. Matthew Henry reads the phrase as pointing beyond David himself, to the one who judges and makes war in righteousness at Revelation 19:11.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And David reigned over all Israel,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

David executed judgment and justice unto all his people--Though involved in foreign wars, he maintained an excellent system of government at home, the most eminent men of the age composing his cabinet of ministers.

The words behind it

12 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.

  • וַיִּמְלֹ֥ךְand he reigned

    vaiyimlokhH4427 →348 times

  • דָּוִ֖דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • עַל־over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • וַיְהִ֣יand he was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • דָוִ֗דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • עֹשֶׂ֛הdoing

    ʾosehH6213 →2628 times

  • מִשְׁפָּ֥טjustice

    mishpatH4941 →422 times

  • וּצְדָקָ֖הand righteousness

    utzedakahH6666 →157 times

  • לְכָל־for all

    lekholH3605 →5413 times

  • עַמּֽוֹ׃people his

    amoH5971 →1873 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 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.

Amos 5:15Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”5 works1 Kings 10:9Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.”5 worksPsalms 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.4 worksPsalms 75:2“When I choose a time, I will judge fairly.4 worksPsalms 119:121I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.4 worksPsalms 72:2May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.3 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Hebrews 7:2and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”3 worksJeremiah 22:15Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.3 works2 Chronicles 17:3Now the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek out the Baals,3 worksPsalms 78:71–72from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.2 worksJeremiah 23:5–6Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.2 works1 Chronicles 18:14Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:2 worksPsalms 101:1–8I will sing of Your loving devotion and justice; to You, O LORD, I will sing praises.2 worksIsaiah 9:7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from that time and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.2 works2 Samuel 23:3–4The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,2 works2 Samuel 5:5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.2 worksAmos 5:24But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.2 worksPsalms 45:6–7Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.2 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

    Psalms 89:14

    Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 97:2

      Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.

    • Proverbs 16:12

      Wicked behavior is detestable to kings, for a throne is established through righteousness.

    • Psalms 45:6–7

      Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever, and justice is the scepter of Your kingdom.

    • Psalms 85:13

      Righteousness will go before Him to prepare the way for His steps.

    • Psalms 145:17

      The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His deeds.

  • Through

    Amos 5:15

    Hate evil and love good; establish justice in the gate. Perhaps the LORD, the God of Hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.”

    it leads to

    • Romans 12:9

      Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.

    • 3 John 1:11

      Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

  • Through

    Psalms 72:2

    May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 32:1

      Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 8 →

This page draws on Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 8 →