Then Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the middle of the oak.
Parallel Translations
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Then Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the middle of the oak.
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Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
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Then said Joab: 'I may not tarry thus with thee.' And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the terebinth.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 18:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 4:21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, and struck the pin into his temples, and it pierced through into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep; so he fainted and died.
- Judges 5:26 She put her hand to the tent peg, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer. With the hammer she struck Sisera. She struck through his head. Yes, she pierced and struck through his temples.
- Judges 5:31 “So let all your enemies perish, Yahweh, but let those who love him be as the sun when it rises in its strength.” Then the land had rest forty years.
- 2 Samuel 14:30 Therefore he said to his servants, “Behold, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
- 2 Samuel 18:5 The king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom.” All the people heard when the king commanded all the captains concerning Absalom.
- Psalms 45:5 Your arrows are sharp. The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king’s enemies.
- Matthew 12:40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman. Then they will in no way escape.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, in the heart of Absalom.
Hebrew, in the heart of Absalom.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry…
2Sa 18:14 Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he [was] yet alive in the midst of the oak.
Ver. 14. And thrust them through the heart of Absalom.] In which execution of this arch-rebel, contrary to David’s charge, whether Joab did well or ill, the doctors are divided. I think he did well for the main; though he might have some mixed motives in it. Absalom was incorrigible, a great murderer, and a parricide, whom though he had now escaped, yet vengeance would not have suffered long to have lived. Selymus, the great Turk, struck with a most loathsome and incurable disease, ended his days at Chiurbus with an untimely and tormenting death, where he had joined battle with his own father, Bajazet, A.D. 1511; God in the same place with revenging hand taking just punishment for his detestable disloyalty towards his aged father. {a}
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{a} Turk. Hist.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain I may not tarry thus with thee; I must…
I may not tarry thus with thee; I must not lose time in contending with thee till I let the occasion slip.
Through the heart of Absalom; not properly so called, for he was yet alive after these wounds, and was slain, 2Sa 18:15; but through his middle, as the word heart is oft used, as Psa 46:2, and that too not exactly, but more largely understood, as Deu 4:11; Eze 27:4; Mat 12:40; or through his body; which might be, and yet the wounds not mortal.
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While he was yet alive, or, yet he continued alive, i.e. the darts did not despatch him, and therefore they smite him again, and kill him, 2Sa 18:15.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with…
Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee,.... It is not worth while to talk with thee any longer, nor must I lose time, and neglect my opportunity; I do not desire you to go and smite him, I will go and do it myself:
and he took three darts in his hand; or three rods, which were either all iron, or however the tops of them were iron spikes:
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and thrust them through the heart of Absalom; or through the midst of his body; for if he had thrust through his heart, properly speaking, he must have died instantly, whereas he seems to have lived after this:
while he was yet alive; Joab found him alive when he came to him, and so he was when he thrust his darts through him; and so he was afterward; for the words may be rendered, "being yet alive", even after the darts were fixed in him, and even so deeply as to pierce through his body:
in the midst, or "heart":
of the oak; into which the darts penetrated.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. I may not tarry thus with thee]…
Verse 14. I may not tarry thus with thee] He had nothing to say in vindication of the purpose he had formed.
Thrust them through the heart of Absalom] He was determined to make sure work, and therefore he pierced his heart.
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Joab should have obeyed the king's commandment: and yet the safety of the state required the sacrifice of Absalom. But independently of this, his life was quadruply forfeited to the law: -
1. In having murdered his brother Amnon.
2. In having excited an insurrection in the state.
3. In having taken up arms against his own father, De 21:18; De 21:21.
4. In having lain with his father's concubines, Le 18:29. Long ago he should have died by the hand of justice; and now all his crimes are visited on him in his last act of rebellion. Yet, in the present circumstances, Joab's act was base and disloyal, and a cowardly murder.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 18:14-15. I may not tarry thus with thee…
2Sa 18:14-15. I may not tarry thus with thee — I must not lose time in contending with thee, till I let the occasion slip. And thrust them through the heart of Absalom — Not through the part properly so called, (for then he would have died immediately, and there would have been no need for his soldiers to fall upon him as they afterward did, 2Sa 18:15,) but through the midst of his body, which did not kill him outright, but some life still remained in him. Ten young men that bare Joab’s armour — Who waited upon his person as general of the army; smote Absalom and slew him — By Joab’s command, who probably judged that there could be no safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, nor security to himself, and David’s friends and other loyal subjects, or to any good men, if Absalom was suffered to live. For he thought that some unquiet people, who were deeply engaged in this rebellion, would soon take occasion to move new disturbances to set him on the throne, which Absalom would be very ready to encourage. Therefore, knowing that he had been guilty of several crimes which the law of God made capital, especially of committing incest with his father’s concubines, and raising an unnatural rebellion against him, with a design to rob him both of his kingdom and his life; Joab did, not as David commanded, but as, he imagined, he ought to have commanded. “Thus fell,” says Delaney, “this cruel, this murderous, this incestuous parricide! and with him, twenty thousand of his rebel adherents.” So much mischief may one restless, interested man do in his country! and such ruin may his ambition bring upon it! We do not, however, intend, by these observations, to plead Joab’s justification in the act of direct disobedience to his sovereign’s orders, but leave the reader to form his own judgment of the matter.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I may not tarry ... - i. e., lose…
I may not tarry ... - i. e., lose time in such discourse.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Sight. Hebrew, "I will not tarry thus with thee."…
Sight. Hebrew, "I will not tarry thus with thee." I will not stand to refute these reasons, nor imitate thy example. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain HE IS SLAIN BY JOAB. (2Sa. 18:14-32)
HE IS SLAIN BY JOAB. (2Sa. 18:14-32)
he took three darts . . . and thrust them through the heart of Absalom--The deed, partially done by Joab, was completed by his bodyguard. Being a violation of the expressed wish, as well as of all the fond paternal feelings of David, it must have been deeply offensive to the king, nor was it ever forgotten (Kg1 2:5); and yet there is the strongest reason for believing that Joab, in doing it, was actuated by a sincere regard to the interests of David, both as a man and a monarch.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. I may not tarry — I have no…
14. I may not tarry — I have no time to lose in thus talking with thee, and am not thus careful to obey the king in this matter. Absalom’s life, says Clarke, “was quadruply forfeited to the law. (1) In having murdered his brother Amnon; (2) In having excited an insurrection in the state; (3) In having taken up arms against his own father, (Deu_21:18; Deu_21:21;) (4) In having lain with his father’s concubines. Lev_18:29. Long ago he should have died by the hand of justice.” But we cannot, with Clarke and others, denounce this act of Joab as a cowardly murder, base and disloyal. True, he disobeyed the king, but he felt it a duty to disobey. He was too much of a warrior and statesman to think that the rebellion could be successfully subdued without the death of Absalom, and he afterwards vindicated himself before David with a severity of rebuke which the king dared not gainsay or resist. 2Sa_19:1-8.
Yet alive — Compare note on 2Sa_18:10.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. three darts] Since the word used means elsewhere…
14. three darts] Since the word used means elsewhere rods or staves (Exo_21:20; 2Sa_23:21), and the wounds inflicted were not at once mortal, it seems that Joab struck Absalom brutally with pointed wooden staves, the first weapons which came to hand, in fact in a kind of way impaled him as a traitor, and left his squires to give him the coup de grâce.
through the heart] Not literally through his heart, for the blows did not kill him outright; but into the midst of his body.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) I may not tarry thus.—Joab evidently feels the…
(14) I may not tarry thus.—Joab evidently feels the home-thrusts made by the man in the argument, but, determined on his deed of violence, he sees that it is worse than useless to delay. His act was simply murder. In a lawless age it was defensible as the one act which terminated the rebellion and made a renewal of it impossible, and destroyed a traitor and would-be parricide who was likely otherwise to escape punishment; but it was a distinct disobedience of express orders, and Joab’s taking the execution into his own hands was wilful and deliberate murder.
Three darts.—The word means a rod or staff. Also the word heart is the same as the following word midst, and is not therefore to be taken too literally. Joab seized such sticks as were at hand in the wood and thrust them into Absalom, giving him most painful and probably mortal wounds, but not instantly killing him. Then (2Sa_18:15) the ten men who had Joab’s armour and weapons came up and finally killed Absalom.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Three darts; Hebrew, three staves. (see 2Sa_23:21) The weapons…
Three darts; Hebrew, three staves. (see 2Sa_23:21) The weapons of the ancients were of a very inferior kind, and stakes sharpened at the end and hardened in the fire were used by the infantry, until the increasing cheapness of iron made it possible to supply them with pikes. Joab"s act was not one of intentional cruelty, but, picking up the first weapons that came to hand, he hurried away to kill his victim. His thrusts with these pointed sticks were brutal, and inflicted mortal wounds; but as they were not immediately fatal, Joab"s armour bearers, who had followed him, and who had with them Joab"s own better weapons, were called upon to put an end to Absalom"s sufferings. His heart does not mean that organ anatomically, but the middle of his body. So at the end of the verse, in the midst of the oak, is, in the Hebrew, in the heart of the terebinth.
Vers. 14-18. (THE WOOD OF EPHRAIM.)
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The end of Absalom.
After a long course of flagrant and persistent wickedness, Absalom (at the age of twenty-seven) met his deserved doom. There is not in all history a more signal instance of retribution. In it we see punishment following crime, in the way of natural consequence, and corresponding with it in the manner of its infliction. The sinner reaps as he sows.
But Justice hastes t" avenge each impious deed: Some in day"s clear and open light; Some in the dusky evening"s twilight shads; Or, by delay more furious made, Some in the dreary gloom of night. (AEsehylus. )
Absalom was
I ARRESTED BY DIVINE JUSTICE, IN THE PERVERSITY OF HIS WAY. (Vers. 9, 10.) When the battle went against him he sought to escape. Possibly he met with some of David"s soldiers, who durst not "touch" him (ver. 12); "but though they let him go, yet God met with him, and put a stop to his flight" (Patrick). His eagerness and impetuosity, his tall form, his long hair, "the king"s mule" on which he rode, all contributed to the result. Entangled by the tresses of his hair, and fastened by his neck in a forked bough, he was left hanging "between heaven and earth"; (Deu_21:23) "rejected as a traitor by both." None of his companions in crime remained with him, but all left him alone to his fate. "A man whom the Divine vengeance is pursuing does not escape" (S. Schmid). Insensate trees, dumb animals, apparently trivial and accidental circumstances, the devices and efforts of the transgressor, are so ordered that he shall not go unpunished. (Pro_11:19, 31 13:21 22:5 28:17, 18)
II EXECUTED BY HUMAN VIOLENCE, SIMILAR TO HIS OWN. (Vers. 14, 15.) As he had slain Amnon, (2Sa_13:28, 2Sa_13:29) so was he slain by Joab. "He that was a solicitor for the king"s favour (2Sa_14:1, 2Sa_14:2, 2Sa_14:33) is his executioner against the king"s charge" (Hall); influenced partly by zeal for the king"s interest and the public good, partly by revenge for private injury, (2Sa_14:30) and jealousy for his own position. (2Sa_3:27 2Sa_19:10) He shared the resentment felt by his men against Absalom; was an instrument by which the wrath of Heaven was inflicted; and perhaps deemed himself justified in becoming such, because of the excessive fondness and blamable weakness of David toward his son; but herein he punished disobedience by disobedience, exhibited a pitiless severity and daring presumption, incurred the king"s displeasure, (2Sa_19:13) involved himself in deeper crime, (1Ki_2:5) and ultimately in a violent death. (1Ki_2:32)
III BURIED IN A SHAMEFUL GRAVE, in contrast with the splendid monument which "in his lifetime he had taken and reared up for himself," etc. (ver. 18). "He had thought that he would be there, some time or other, buried as king; but he is now buried as an outlawed evil doer, as an outcast from among men. Till this hour that grave speaks to us with a loud awakening voice. Violations of the commandment, "Honour thy father and thy mother," for the most part, indeed, escape the judgment of human authorities; but the Almighty has reserved it to himself to inflict punishment with his own hand, and for the most part even on this side eternity, as he has promised for this world also a gracious reward to those who keep it holy, according to the promise annexed to the commandment, "that it may go well wire thee (Krumreacher). "The great pit in the wood," with "a very great heap of stones laid upon him this was the end of his ambitious career (Deu_21:22, Deu_21:23; Jos_7:26 Jos_8:29) The site both of his grave and of the "marble pillar in the king"s dale, two furlongs distant from Jerusalem" (Josephus), has been for ages unknown; and even the monolith in the valley of the Kidron (probably of the Herodian age, but associated with his name) is "unto this day" regarded with scorn by the passer by, as he casts another stone, and mutters a curse upon his memory. "Shame shall be the promotion of fools". (Pro_3:35 Pro_30:17) "Hear this, ye glorious fools, that care not to perpetuate any memory of yourselves to the world, but of ill-deserving greatness. The best of this affectation is vanity; the worst infamy and dishonour; whereas the memory of the just shall be blessed, and, if his humility shall refuse an epitaph and choose to hide himself under the bare earth, God himself shall engrave his name upon the pillar of eternity" (Hall). D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I will not wait for you
I will not wait for you
Joab meant that he should not continue talking to the man. AT: "I will not waste anymore time talking to you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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heart of Absalom
Here Absalom's heart refers to his chest or upper body. AT: "chest" (See: Synecdoche)
armor
This refers to both the armor he would wear to protect himself and to his weapons. AT: "armor and weapons" (See: Synecdoche)
translationWords
heart
hang
armor
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 18:14 plunged them into Absalom’s heart: Earlier, Joab had…
18:14 plunged them into Absalom’s heart: Earlier, Joab had played the role of reconciler between David and Absalom (ch 14). It is possible Joab believed that allowing Absalom to live would only invite ongoing trouble for David and for himself. (Absalom had appointed Amasa, Joab’s first cousin, to fill Joab’s position as commander of Israel’s army; see 17:25.)
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.