Abner said to him, “Turn away to your right hand or to your left, and grab one of the young men, and take his armor.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him.
Parallel Translations
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Abner said to him, “Turn away to your right hand or to your left, and grab one of the young men, and take his armor.” But Asahel would not turn away from following him.
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And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.
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And Abner said to him: 'Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour.' But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 2:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 14:19 Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck thirty men of them. He took their plunder, then gave the changes of clothing to those who declared the riddle. His anger burned, and he went up to his father’s house.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, spoil.
Or, spoil.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 2:21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee…
2Sa 2:21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.
Ver. 21. Lay thee hold on one of the young men.] Meddle with thy match, and contend not with him that is mightier than thou. Patroclus is no meet match for Hector. When Carolostadius opposed Luther’s consubstantiation, but weakly and insufficiently, Zuinglius said he was sorry that so good a cause wanted shoulders. {a} Heat of zeal sometimes, in the indiscreet pursuit of a just adversary, proves mortal to the agent, prejudicial to the service.
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{a} Non satis humerorum haberet.
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 Take thee his armour: if thou art ambitious to…
Take thee his armour: if thou art ambitious to get a trophy or mark of thy valour, desist from me, who am an old and experienced captain, and go to some young and raw soldier; try thy skill upon him, and take away his arms from him.
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 And Abner said unto him,.... Having a respect for…
And Abner said unto him,.... Having a respect for him, and consulting his good, and however fearing his brother Joab should he slay him:
turn thee aside to thy right or to thy left; he does not advise him to go back, which would have been to his disgrace, having engaged in the pursuit, but to turn to the right or left, as if pursuing some other person and not Abner:
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and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour; one of the common soldiers, or an attendant on Abner, a young man like himself, whom he might be able to cope with, and take him a prisoner and disarm him, when he was not a match for such an old experienced officer as he was; and this Abner seems to speak as a friend, consulting the young man's safety and his honour too.
But, Asahel would not turn aside from following him; fired with the ambition of taking him, and not content with any prey short of him; and perhaps was the more animated by what he said, as supposing it arose from fear of him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And take, &c. - If thou art ambitious to…
And take, &c. - If thou art ambitious to get a trophy or mark of thy valour, desist from me who am an old and experienced captain, and go to some young and raw soldier; try thy skill upon him, and take away his arms from him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. Take thee his armour.] It seems Asahel…
Verse 21. Take thee his armour.] It seems Asahel wished to get the armour of Abner as a trophy; this also was greatly coveted by ancient heroes. Abner wished to spare him, for fear of exciting Joab's enmity; but as Asahel was obstinate in the pursuit, and was swifter of foot than Abner, the latter saw that he must either kill or be killed, and therefore he turned his spear and ran it through the body of Asahel. This turning about that he might pierce him is what we translate "the hinder end of his spear." This slaying of Asahel cost Abner his life, as we shall find in the next chapter.
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 2:21-22. Abner said, Turn thee aside, &c. —…
2Sa 2:21-22. Abner said, Turn thee aside, &c. — If thou art ambitions to get a trophy or mark of thy valour, desist from me, who am an old and experienced captain, and go to some young and raw soldier; try thy skill upon him, and take away his arms from him. Abner was very unwilling to kill Asahel, which he knew he was able to do, and therefore he endeavoured, by fair speeches and motives, to induce him to desist from his design of attacking him. How should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother? — Who was a fierce man, and who, Abner knew, would study revenge.
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 His armour - Rather, as in the margin; i.…
His armour - Rather, as in the margin; i. e. content thyself with the spoil of some inferior soldier for a trophy.
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 Spoils. Attack one who may be a more equal…
Spoils. Attack one who may be a more equal match for thee. (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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Lay thee hold on one of the young…
21. Lay thee hold on one of the young men — One of the common soldiers.
Take thee his armour — Asahel’s object was to slay Abner and take his armour as a trophy.
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 21. take thee his armour] Probably, as in Jdg_14:19,…
21. take thee his armour] Probably, as in Jdg_14:19, his spoil: i.e. if Asahel was desirous of spoil, he might find it elsewhere, instead of attacking a practised warrior at the risk of his life.
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.