Joab 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.”
Parallel Translations
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Joab 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.”
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And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
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And Joab said: 'As God liveth, if thou hadst not spoken, surely then only after the morning the people had gone away, every one from following his brother.'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 2:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
- 2 Samuel 2:14 Abner said to Joab, “Please let the young men arise and play before us!” Joab said, “Let them arise!”
- Proverbs 17:14 The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.
- Job 27:2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right, the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter
- Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
- Proverbs 20:18 Plans are established by advice; by wise guidance you wage war!
- Proverbs 25:8 Don’t be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?
- Isaiah 47:7 You said, ‘I will be a princess forever,’ so that you didn’t lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the results.
- Luke 14:31-32 Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain If thou hadst not provoked them to battle, as…
If thou hadst not provoked them to battle, as verse 14.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 2:27 And Joab said, [As] God liveth, unless…
2Sa 2:27 And Joab said, [As] God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
Ver. 27. Unless thou hadst spoken,] q.d., Thou mayest thank thyself for the hurt that is done: for thou first madest the challenge. Aequum est ut faber quas fecit compedes ipse gestet.
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 Unless thou hadst spoken; unless thou hadst made the…
Unless thou hadst spoken; unless thou hadst made the motion that they might fight, 2Sa 2:14. It was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. Withal, he intimates that Abner was the sole cause of this war; and that if he had not given commission and command, the war had never been undertaken, but all things had been ended by an amicable agreement; which might have been made that very morning, if he had so pleased.
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 Joab said, as God liveth,.... Which was the…
And Joab said, as God liveth,.... Which was the form of an oath, swearing by the living God:
unless thou hadst spoken; that is, these words in Sa2 2:14; "let the young men arise and play", that he had not given the challenge to fight:
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surely then in the morning the people had gone up everyone from following his brother; they would have gone away and never fought at all; they were not desirous of shedding their blood, and following after them to slay them: thus he lays the blame upon Abner, and makes him to be the cause and beginner of the war. Some render the particle by "if", and give the sense, that if he had spoken what he last did sooner, the people would long before this time have desisted from pursuing them; for it was not from a thirst after their blood, and a desire to luke vengeance on them, that they pursued them, but to bring them to submission, and lay down their arms; for they could not in honour retreat until they desired it; but the former sense seems best, and is the general sense of the Jewish commentators.
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 Unless, &c. - Unless thou hadst made the motion…
Unless, &c. - Unless thou hadst made the motion that they should fight, ver. 14. It was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. Abner was the sole cause of this war; otherwise all things had been ended by an amicable agreement: which might have been made that very morning, if he had so pleased.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain 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 2Sa 2:27. Unless thou hadst spoken, &c. — Made…
2Sa 2:27. Unless thou hadst spoken, &c. — Made the motion that they should fight, giving a rash challenge; surely in the morning the people had gone up — The armies had parted in peace, without any act of hostility: it was thou, not I, that gave the first occasion of this fight. This plainly shows that Joab’s instructions were not to begin hostilities, and that Abner was the sole cause of the war. Had it not been for him, all things might have been settled by an amicable agreement that very morning. Some, however, understand Joab’s words differently: they consider him as swearing solemnly, that inasmuch as Abner had given the challenge, and proposed fighting, if he had not also begun the parley for cessation, he and his men would have pursued him and Ish-bosheth’s vanquished army the whole night.
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 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 Sooner. Hebrew, "If thou hadst not spoken," (Du Hamel)…
CHAPTER II.
Sooner. Hebrew, "If thou hadst not spoken," (Du Hamel) by challenging, ver. 14. (Josephus, &c.) (Calmet)
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 27. Unless thou hadst spoken — As thou didst…
27. Unless thou hadst spoken — As thou didst this morning, saying, “Let the young men arise and play.” 2Sa_2:14. That challenge provoked the war. Had it not been uttered the two armies would have separated without fight or bloodshed.
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 27. unless thou hadst spoken] Abner found fault with…
27. unless thou hadst spoken] Abner found fault with Joab for continuing the pursuit. Joab retorts that Abner himself was to blame for the commencement of the battle. Unless thou hadst spoken (2Sa_2:14), and challenged us to fight, the armies might have separated this morning without coming to blows. Joab believed that the civil war might have been avoided by timely negotiation. This explanation is the simplest, and fits the context best. Another way of taking it is, Unless thou hadst spoken, and asked for a cessation of hostilities, then to-morrow morning, but not before, the people, &c.; i.e. Joab boasts that his compliance with Abner’s request was no sign of weakness on his part, for he might have continued the pursuit until morning. But this meaning is less obvious, and less suitable as an answer to Abner.
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 (27) Unless thou hadst spoken.—Joab’s reply to Abner admits…
(27) Unless thou hadst spoken.—Joab’s reply to Abner admits of either of two interpretations: (1) Joab seeks to throw the whole blame of the conflict upon Abner, by saying that if he had not proposed the combat between the champions (2Sa_2:14) there would have been no battle, but “the people” of both sides would have separated peaceably at Gibeon; or (2), as the phrase is more generally and more probably under. stood, that Joab had intended to keep up the pursuit only until the following morning, but as Abner already sued for mercy, he was content, and would stop now.
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 Unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning…
Unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up; or as the Revised Version renders, had gone away, nor followed every man his brother. The Revised Version makes the sense more plain. Joab throws the whole blame, and rightly so, on Abner. David would under no circumstances have attacked Ishbosheth, and Joab with his men had marched to the tank of Gibeon simply to repel an invading force. When there, Joab, doubtless by David"s orders, had remained strictly on the defensive, and so unwilling were both armies to fight, that Abner had to resort to a most cruel scene of butchery in order to inflame their passions and force them to begin a conflict of brother against brother. But for Abner"s challenge, both armies would have separated as friends. And Joab still acts upon the same principle of forbearance, and gives the signal for stopping the pursuit. He was not a man of a tender heart, but he was wise and sensible, and fully aware that the slaughter of Abner and his men, even if he could have destroyed them all, would only have rankled in the minds of all Israel, and set them against David and his rule.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.