2 Samuel 2:26-31 sits inside this longer paragraph.
21Abner 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. 22Abner said again to Asahel, “Turn away from following me. Why should I strike you to the ground? How then could I look Joab your brother in the face?” 23However he refused to turn away. Therefore Abner with the back end of the spear struck him in the body, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place. As many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. 24But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner. The sun went down when they had come to the hill of Ammah, that lies before Giah by the way of the wilderness of Gibeon. 25The children of Benjamin gathered themselves together after Abner, and became one band, and stood on the top of a hill. 26Then Abner called to Joab, and said, “Shall the sword devour forever? Don’t you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long will it be then, before you ask the people to return from following their brothers?”
27Joab said, “As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely then in the morning the people would have gone away, and not each followed his brother.” 28So Joab blew the trumpet; and all the people stood still, and pursued Israel no more, and they fought no more. 29Abner and his men went all that night through the Arabah; and they passed over the Jordan, and went through all Bithron, and came to Mahanaim. 30Joab returned from following Abner; and when he had gathered all the people together, nineteen men of David’s and Asahel were missing. 31But David’s servants had struck Benjamin and of Abner’s men so that three hundred sixty men died. 32They took up Asahel, and buried him in the tomb of his father, which was in Bethlehem. Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke on them at Hebron.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 29, 31 Shall we not make an end of murdering?
Shall we not make an end of murdering?
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv26–30 2Sa 2:26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said,…
2Sa 2:26 Then Abner called to Joab, and said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren?
Ver. 26. Shalt the sword devour for ever?] The Hebrews ascribe a mouth to the sword. The Greeks call it πολεμος, q.d., πολυαιμος, from the much blood spilt by it. The Latins call it Bellum a belluis, from beasts, whose manner it is to gore and tear one another. Oh, pray that God would command the sword into the scabbard, making it to "rest and be still," {Jer 47:6} that he would "scatter those that delight in war." Pompey was famous for finishing a war quickly.
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Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?] q.d., It is likely to be so, if my men, despairing not of victory only but of life, resolve to run any hazard, and to sell their lives as dear as they can, since they must needs part with them. It is no wisdom to fight with a desperate man. Ignaviam necessitas acuit: et saepe desperatio spei causa est. Victorem a victo superari saepe videmus. {a} Justin {b} telleth, that fifteen thousand Locrians did beat a hundred thousand Crotonians: Quia omissa spe victoriae in destinatam mortem conspirarunt, whilst they despaired of victory, and took care only how to die bravely. Take heed, therefore, saith this old soldier, lest ye have sour sauce at length to your deserts; as indeed all those are sure to have who feed on the murdering morsels of sin. Revenge is sweet; but the fruits thereof are sad, and all too late repented of. All wars are woeful; but especially those they call civil,
“ Nullos habitura triumphos. ”
Peccatoris cuiusque calix mellis, in faeces fellis desinet.
Return from following their brethren.] Is it so good butchering their poor brethren? We read in the Roman history of one brother unawares killing another in battle; and that when he came to strip him to take his spoils, seeing that it was his brother, he slew himself for sorrow.
{a} Curt., lib. iv.
{b} Lib. xx.
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 On vv26–29 It will be bitterness in the latter end; it…
It will be bitterness in the latter end; it will produce dreadful effects, and many bloody slaughters, if by a further prosecution thou makest them desperate; which is against all the rules of policy.
Their brethren, by nation and religion; whom therefore they should not pursue with so fierce a rage, as if they were pursuing the Philistines.
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 On vv26–31 Then Abner called to Joab,.... For having now a…
Then Abner called to Joab,.... For having now a troop of men with him, he could stop with the greater safety; and being on an hill, and perhaps Joab on one opposite to him, could call to him, so as to be heard:
and said, shall the sword devour for ever? slay men, and devour their blood. See Jer 46:10. That he was not thoughtful of, nor concerned about, when he set the young men to fighting before the battle, and called it play to wound and shed the blood of each other; but now the battle going against him, he complains of the devouring sword; and though it had been employed but a few hours, it seemed long to him, a sort of an eternity:
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knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? since it might issue in the death of himself, or of Joab, or of both, as it had in Asahel, or, however, in the death of a multitude of others; and which at last would cause bitter reflection in the prosecutors of the war:
how long shall it be then ere thou bid the people return from following their brethren? he pleads relation, that the men of Israel and the men of Judah were brethren; so they were by nation and religion, and therefore should not pursue one another to destruction; but who was the aggressor? It was Abner, that brought his forces against Judah; the men of David acted only on the defensive.
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 On vv26–27 Bitterness - It will produce dreadful effects. Brethren -…
Bitterness - It will produce dreadful effects. Brethren - By nation and religion: whom therefore they should not pursue with so fierce a rage, as if they were pursuing the Philistines.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv27, 29 Verse 27. And Joab said] The meaning of this…
Verse 27. And Joab said] The meaning of this verse appears to be this: If Abner had not provoked the battle, (see 2Sa 2:14), Joab would not have attacked the Israelites that day; as his orders were probably to act on the defensive. Therefore the blame fell upon Israel.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 28, 30 2Sa 2:26. Bitterness in the latter end — It…
2Sa 2:26. Bitterness in the latter end — It will produce dreadful effects. In civil wars, as Cicero speaks, (Familiar Epist., lib. 4.,) all things are miserable, and nothing more miserable than victory itself, which makes the conqueror do many things against his will, to satisfy those by whom he conquers. Joab seems to have been very sensible of this, from his withdrawing his forces so readily from the pursuit. From following their brethren — By nation and religion; descended from one common ancestor of Israel, and worshipping one and the same God. How forcible is this argument, even if applied to all men, and how ought it to induce all kings and princes to avoid all wars as much as possible, forasmuch as all mankind are brethren, and made of one blood.
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 On vv27, 29 Joab’s speech means either “unless thou hadst spoken (challenged…
Joab’s speech means either “unless thou hadst spoken (challenged us to fight, 2Sa 2:14), the people would have returned from the pursuit of their brethren (many hours ago, even) this morning;” or, “If thou hadst not spoken (asked for peace, 2Sa 2:26), surely the people would have returned, etc., in the morning, i. e. would not have ceased the pursuit until the morning.” The latter interpretation is the more accordant with Joab’s boastful character.
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 On vv26–29 Destruction. Septuagint, "till thou hast gained a complete victory?"…
Destruction. Septuagint, "till thou hast gained a complete victory?" Chaldean, "to separation?" Must we come to an eternal rupture? --- Despair? Hebrew, "that it will be bitterness in the end?" Abner insinuates that they had commenced in a sort of play, but the consequences had already proved too serious; and if Joab continued to pursue, his men would be rendered desperate. (Calmet) --- Despair makes people perform wonders, to revenge themselves. (Menochius)
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 On vv26, 27, 29, 30 26. Shall the sword devour for ever — Shall…
26. Shall the sword devour for ever — Shall there be no cessation of the conflict already so disastrous to us all?
It will be bitterness in the latter end — Bitter because of the losses on either side, and still more bitter from the fact that it might have been avoided.
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 On vv26–29 26. that it will be bitterness in the latter…
26. that it will be bitterness in the latter end] Either, that the final struggle of desperate men when driven to bay will be the fiercest; or, that any further prosecution of the contest will merely aggravate the bitterness of hostility between the tribes.
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 On vv26–30 (26) Abner called to Joab.—It may be that Abner…
(26) Abner called to Joab.—It may be that Abner was already considering the expediency of transferring his allegiance to the house of David, or, at least, had had enough experience of Ish-bosheth to see that it would be impossible to unite the tribes under his sway. At all events, his sense of the disastrous effects of civil war was doubtless quickened by his own defeat and present danger.
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 On vv26, 27, 29, 30 Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in…
Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end! The Vulgate renders this, "Art thou not aware that desperation is dangerous?" This is a very obvious truth, but probably Abner had in his mind something more statesmanlike. The struggle was for the empire over all Israel, and whoever won would be king over both sides. But every man slain meant a blood feud, which would continue even after the kingdom was united; and Abner probably felt that his own slaughter of Asahel that day would render his position in David"s realm difficult and dangerous. Among the Arab tribes quarrels are very common, but bloodshed rare, because of the blood feud which follows. Moderation was thus necessary on both sides, while cruelty and the immoderate use of victory would sow the seeds of future trouble.
Longing for the cessation of wars.
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the sword devour forever?" This exclamation of Abner respecting the pursuit of his discomfited troops by the conquering troops of Joab, has often been uttered in respect to war in general. As so employed it expresses horror of war, and impatient longing for its final termination.
I THE QUESTION. The feelings which it indicates are excited in view of:
1. The nature of war. The mutual slaughter of each other by those who are "brethren." This aspect of the slaughter of one part of the chosen people by another presented itself to Abner. But in the light of Christianity all men are brothers, and war is a species of fratricide. They are all children of God, brethren of Christ, redeemed by his blood, and capable of sharing his eternal glory and blessedness. In this view of war, not only the actual conflicts, but all the elaborate preparations made for them, appear very dreadful
2. Its causes. "Whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts?". (Jam_4:1) The evil passions of men are their cause lust of territory, of dominion, of glory, of money; the spirit of revenge and retaliation; even the love of excitement and adventure. Not less, but if possible more hideous, is the cool, calculating policy of rulers, which sets armies in motion with no regard to the lives which it sacrifices or the misery it occasions; or, again, the desire for active service, with its opportunities of distinction, promotion, and other rewards, which springs up amongst the officers, if not the rank and file, of standing armies, and which takes no thought of the dreadful evil which "active service" inflicts.
3. Its effects. "Shall the sword devour forever?" War is like a huge wild beast which "devours." It eats up human beings by thousands or tens of thousands at a time. It was a small consumption of men which took place in the battle and pursuit of which this question was first used. Only twenty men had fallen on the one side, and three hundred and sixty on the other. Modern wars "devour" on a far greater scale, partly in actual battle, more from wounds received in battle, and from the diseases which the hardships of war produce. War not only devours men in vast numbers, and thus occasions incalculable sorrow and misery; it consumes the substance of nations, the creation of peaceful industry; it wastes their mental and physical energies. And still more sad to contemplate are the moral effects both on the actual combatants and on those who employ them; the hateful passions excited and strengthened, the deterioration of national character produced.
4. Its universal prevalence. Among peoples in every part of the world, in every stage of civilization, and down through every age. However men differ in other respects, they are alike in this practice. Whatever changes take place, this survives. The progress of science and art, of discovery and invention, and of mechanical skill, seems to have no other effect in regard to war than to increase the power of mutual destruction. War lays them all under tribute to enlarge its ability to "devour" and destroy more easily and rapidly, and on a larger scale. In view of all these considerations good men may well sigh and cry, "Shall the sword devour forever?" There have doubtless been wars on which, in spite of all the evils they occasion, lovers of their kind could look with sympathy and satisfaction so far as one party was concerned. Such are wars of defence against unjust aggression, wars undertaken by a people to obtain liberty as against some crushing tyranny, wars against hordes of barbarians who threaten devastation and destruction to hearths and homes, and all that civilized men value. But even in such cases we may well ask Will it ever be necessary to use so dreadful an instrument as war in the endeavour to obtain rights or abolish wrongs? Will men never be amenable to reason? Must there ever be retained the power to resort to the violent methods of war?
The cause of truth and human weal, O God above! Transfer it from the sword"s appeal To peace and love. (Campbell.)
II THE REPLY WHICH MAY BE GIVEN TO THIS QUESTION. No. The sword shall not devour forever. Wars will at length come to a final end.
1. Divine prophecy assures us of this. (Isa_2:4 Isa_11:6-9; Mic_4:3, Mic_4:4; see also Psa_72:3, Psa_72:7; Zec_9:10) Not only shall wars cease, but there shall be such a feeling of universal security that the arts of war shall cease to be learnt.
2. An adequate power for effecting this change is in the world. Christianity the gospel of Jesus Christ, with the accompanying might of the HolySpirit. The revelation of God in Christ, especially of the relation of God to all men and his love to all; the redemption effected for all; the precepts of the gospel, inculcating love even to enemies, and the doing good to all; the example of him who was Love Incarnate; the dignity and worth of men, and their relation to each other, as seen in the light of the gospel; the sacred brotherhood into which faith in Christ brings men of all lands; the prospect of a heaven where all Christians will be united in service and blessedness; these truths go to the root of the evil in the hearts of men. They cannot be truly received without subduing the passions which lead to war, and implanting the affections which insure peace.
3. Experience justifies the hope that this peace-producing power will at length be triumphant. That it will be in operation everywhere, and everywhere effectual. So far as it has been experienced, it has made its subjects gentle, loving, peaceful, more willing to suffer than to inflict suffering. Multitudes exist in the world so ruled by the gospel and the Spirit of Christ, that it is simply impossible they should on any account take to killing each other. What has transformed them can transform others. Let vital Christianity become universal, and peace must be universal too. It is on the way to become universal, though its advance is slow to our view. The effect of Christianity, so far as it has prevailed, on war itself encourages hope. It has become humane in comparison with wars recorded in this Book and in the pages of general history. And amongst civilized nations there is a growing indisposition to resort to war, an increasing willingness to settle their differences by peaceful methods. This is doubtless partly the result of the tremendous costliness and destructiveness of modern warfare, but partly also of the growth of a spirit of reasonableness, equity, and humanity.
In conclusion:
1. Cherish the spirit and principles of peace, i.e. of Christ and Christianity.
2. Endeavour to diffuse them. And do this earnestly and hopefully, with theassurance of a final success in which you will participate joyfully.
3. Use your influence as citizens to discourage war. "And the God of peaceshall be with you". (2Co_13:11) G.W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv26, 28, 29 Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in…
2Sa_2:26
Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end?
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Bitterness
Abner was the cousin of King Saul, and commander-in-chief of his army. Even after the death of Saul, Abner's ability and skill enabled him to uphold the failing fortunes of the family. While David reigned in Hebron, a son of Saul was the head of ten revolting tribes beyond Jordan. Abner was an eloquent lecturer on prudence, when recklessness had wrought his own ruin. Like many old men who had been dissipated all their lives, when they can no longer be rakes and libertines, they gravely advise young men to be chaste and sober. It would be well if every headstrong Abner would ask himself, in season to repent and amend, Knowest thou not it will be bitterness in the latter end? There is a dreadful condition, in the future, towards which every guilty soul is surely and swiftly drifting--a state of bitterness. It may serve a good purpose to inquire, in what this bitterness consists?
I. One of the ingredients in the cup of bitterness which the wrong-doer will assuredly drink is the consciousness that it was his own doing. Thou hast destroyed thyself! will be the taunting cry of the demon. The easy, good-natured world has a nice way of smoothing over such things, and saying, He is not very steady, poor fellow; but, then, he does not mean any harm. And the same mistaken spirit of charity adds, He is nobody's enemy but his own! The Bible teaches a different lesson: The enemy of God, by wicked works (Col_1:21). Inwardly and outwardly, the impenitent sinner is hostile to God.
II. Another reason why bitterness must be the portion of the transgressor will be, that he risked so much and received so little. The cup of worldly pleasure had a very small flavour of sweetness in it, after all. The most seductive forms of sensual indulgence are always followed by bitterness. Let any one study that terrible picture, sketched from real life, The Man about Town, in The Diary of a London Physician, and as he turns with a shudder from the sight, he will discover a new meaning in the prophet's words, It is an evil thing, and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God (Jer_2:19).
III. Another ingredient of bitterness to the lost will be the memory of evil-doings. Hell is a place where the condemned will be shut up with themselves. Moreover, there will be a development of character in its inmates--no longer kept under any degree of restraint, by better surroundings--which imagination cannot conceive of. It would be well for them to remember that the devil is daily administering anodynes to keep men stupefied and inactive. Among these narcotics, are--
1. The business and distractions of life.
2. Another anodyne which the devil offers to his unsuspecting victim is the cup of worldly pleasure. If one has swallowed an overdose of laudanum, he must be kept moving about briskly, or he will sink down into the sleep of death. So, too, with those stupefied by Satan's arts, we must give them no peace, until they are fully aroused to a sense of their danger. (J. A. Norton.)
A sweet beginning but a bitter end
These are the words of Abner, a near relation of king Saul, and a distinguished general of his armies. They are addressed to Joab, one of David's nephews and a commander of his army, a man valiant it is true but bounding with ambition and burning with vengeance. A course of wrong conduct ends in bitterness.
I. That sin does not answer in the long run. A course of sin may and often does answer for a certain time; it may yield profit and pleasure to its author for years.
1. Unrighteous avarice may answer for a certain time. The greedy and over-reaching man of the world may be wondrously successful. He may see his fortune rising higher and glittering brighter as the result of his unscrupulous and unremitting efforts. In all this he may for a time find great, pleasure. Success keeps his brain active and his blood warm.
2. Unbridled sensuality may answer for a certain time. A young man gives himself up to the gratification of his animal appetites and lusts. He finds an elysium in purely sensual indulgences.
3. Unscrupulous ambition may answer for a certain time. In all men there is more or less a love of power; in some it is a dominant passion. These men, working out their passion, struggle upward in the social realm; their course yields them pleasure.
4. Social impositions may answer for a certain time. There are men who have a passion for deceiving, they live for imposture, and by imposture. Now, whilst in all these courses of conduct there is a certain kind of pleasure, the pleasure only runs on to a certain period. From an inevitable law in the moral universe, the time comes when the sweet becomes bitter, when all the pleasure becomes poison than rankles in every vein of the soul. We infer--
II. That we do not finish with life as we go on. The brute perhaps finishes his life as he proceeds; his yesterdays affect him only materially. Not so with man. We have not done with any of the conscious periods through which we have passed, not even with the earliest. Our first actions will vibrate on the ear a thousand ages on; the first scenes will unfold themselves to the eve in ages far on in the future. Two laws render this certain:--
1. The law of moral causation. Our consciousness is ourselves; and this consciousness is the product of the past. It is to-day the cause of what it will be to-morrow.
2. The law of mental association. There is a faculty within us we call memory, and this memory gathers up the fragments of our past life so that nothing is lost. How often, by the principle of contrast, resemblance, and proximity, are the past actions of our lives called vividly up before us! Memory is the course of the wicked, the paradise of the innocent, and the common resort of all souls. We infer:--
III. That a sinner's moral sense is destined to a great revolution. What was sweet once, becomes hitter in the future. Physically, the man who at one time felt an article of food delicious which afterwards he found to be nauseous, has had, of course, his natural palate greatly altered. Just so in morals: when a man finds that the things which at one time gave him highest delight yield him intense pain, some great change must have taken place in his moral sensibility. Ah, it is so. The time hastens when he will see with different eyes, hear with different ears, feel with different nerves, taste with different palate. The silver which Judas clutches with delight, through a change in his moral sensibility, becomes so red-hot that he throws it away as unbearable. The fact is, that all the pleasures connected with sinful life are dependent upon a torpidity of conscience; let the conscience be aroused to a sense of its guilty condition, and these pleasures vanish, nay, turn into wormwood and gall. (Homilist.)
Keeping the end in view
Here we have an inquiry which ought to be put under all circumstances that are doubtful, and especially under all circumstances that are marked by selfishness or disregard of the interests of others. The question never is, what is the present feeling, but what will be the ultimate condition. There is night as well as morning, and the darkness must be considered as certainly as the light. What do things grow to? What is the latter end? If a man sow good seed he will reap good fruit. He who sows the wind will reap the whirlwind.
1. This question may be put to every man who is pursuing evil courses:--Say to the indolent, Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? say to the drunkard the same thing; say to the debauchee, whose whole thought is taken up with the satisfaction of his passions, the same thing; say also to the gambler, the adventurer, to the man who is boasting immediate success founded upon immoral courses, Knowest thou not that it will be bitterness in the latter end? Remind every one that there is a latter end; that there is a war in which there is no discharge; that there is an audit in which we must give up every account, every voucher, and undergo Divine judgment. The whole of our life should be conducted under the consciousness of its latter end.
3. This need not becloud our prospects, depress our spirits, or take the inspiration out of our action: a man may so contemplate his latter end as to know nothing of melancholy; he may rather see in it the beginning of the blessedness that is pure and immortal. We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be bad. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Progressive character of sin
Sin is like the descent of a hill, where every step we take increases the difficulty of our return. Sin is like a river in its course; the longer it runs it wears a deeper channel, and the further from the fountain, it swells in volume and acquires a greater strength. Sin is like a tree in its progress: the longer it grows, it spreads its roots the wider, grows taller, grows thicker, till the sapling which once an infant's arm could bend, raises its head aloft, defiant of the storm. Sin in its habits becomes stronger every day--the heart grows harder; the conscience grows duller; the distance between God and the soul grows greater; and, like a rock hurled from the mountain top, the farther we descend, we go down and down and down, with greater and greater rapidity. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv26, 28, 30 Abner called
Abner called
"Abner shouted" or "Abner yelled"
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Must the sword devour forever?
This rhetorical question emphasizes that the battle had already continued too long. Here "sword" refers to the fighting. The killing in the battle is spoken of as if a wild animal was eating the soldiers. AT: "We do not need to keep using our swords to fight and kill each other." (See: Rhetorical Question and Metonymy and Metaphor)
Do you not know it will be bitter in the end?
This rhetorical question is used to force Joab to acknowledge that continued fighting could only result in more suffering. Here "bitter" is a euphemism for the terrible suffering that would occur. AT: "You know very well that there will be a terrible result if this continues!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Euphemism)
How long will it be before you tell your men to stop pursuing their brothers?
This rhetorical question is intended to convince Joab to stop fighting their fellow Israelites. Here "brother" is used to represent the members of the nation of Israel. AT: "Stop this now so that Israelites will not have to kill each other!" (See: Rhetorical Question and Metonymy)
Just as God lives
This is a very strong vow. AT: "With God as my witness" or "God will affirm that I mean what I say"
if you had not said that ... pursued their brothers until the morning
This hypothetical statement tells what might have happened if Abner had not spoken wisely to Joab. (See: Hypothetical Situations)
translationWords
Abner
Joab
devour
eternity
know
God
life
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 On vv26, 28, 29, 31 2:26 bitterness is the only result: Realizing that such…
2:26 bitterness is the only result: Realizing that such wars go on generation after generation, Abner wisely negotiated a truce.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.