2 Samuel 12 · Verse 27

2 Samuel 12:27

And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
2 Samuel 12:27, King James Version

2 Samuel 12:27 in other translations

BSBThen Joab sent messengers to David to say, “I have fought against Rabbah and have captured the water supply of the city.
WEBJoab sent messengers to David, and said, “I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters.
ASVAnd Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah; yea, I have taken the city of waters.
YLTand Joab sendeth messengers unto David, and saith, ‘I have fought against Rabbah--also I have captured the city of waters;
DARBYAnd Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.
BBEAnd Joab sent men to David, saying, I have made war against Rabbah and have taken the water-town.
WebsterAnd Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

What does 2 Samuel 12:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. the city of waters--Rabbah, like Aroer, was divided into two parts--one the lower town, insulated by the winding course of the Jabbok, which flowed almost round it, and the upper and stronger town, called the royal city. "The first was taken by Joab, but the honor of capturing so strongly a fortified place as the other was an honor reserved for the king himself."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 And have taken the city of waters - The city where the tank or reservoir was that supplied the city and suburbs with water. Some think that the original, לכדתי את עיר המים lachadti eth ir hammayim, should be translated I have intercepted, or cut off, the waters of the city: and Houbigant translates the place, et aquas ab urbe jam derivavi; "And I have already drawn off the waters from the city." This perfectly agrees with the account in Josephus, who says των τε ὑδατων αυτους αποτεμνομενος, having cut off their waters, Antiq., lib. vii., cap. 7. This was the reason why David should come speedily, as the citadel, deprived of water, could not long hold out.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 12:26-31

To be thus severe in putting the children of Ammon to slavery was a sign that David's heart was not yet made soft by repentance, at the time when this took place. We shall be most compassionate, kind, and forgiving to others, when we most feel our need of the Lord's forgiving love, and taste the sweetness of it in our own souls.

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 12:26-31 →

2 Samuel 12:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חvai.yish.Lachand he sentH7971
יוֹאָ֛בyo.'AvJoabH3097
מַלְאָכִ֖יםmal.'a.KhimmessengersH4397
אֶל\־'el-toH413
דָּוִ֑דda.VidDavidH1732
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙vai.Yo.merand he saidH559
נִלְחַ֣מְתִּיnil.Cham.tiI have foughtH3898
בְרַבָּ֔הve.ra.Bahagainst RabbahH7237
גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571
לָכַ֖דְתִּיla.Khad.tiI have capturedH3920
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עִ֥יר'ir[the] city ofH5892
הַמָּֽיִם\׃ha.Ma.yimthe watersH4325

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 12:27

  • Ezekiel 21:20

    Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.

  • Deuteronomy 3:11

    For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.

  • 2 Samuel 11:1

    And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Rabbah.
11:1; De 3:11; Eze 21:20
the city of waters.Probably that part of the city situated near the pond, from which the rest received their water.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 12:26

    And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.

  • 2 Samuel 12:27

    And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters.

  • 2 Samuel 12:28

    Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.

Read all of 2 Samuel 12

2 Samuel 12:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Entonces envió Joab mensajeros á David, diciendo: Yo he peleado contra Rabba, y he tomado la ciudad de las aguas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Joab envoya des messagers à David, et dit: J’ai fait la guerre contre Rabba, et j’ai aussi pris la ville des eaux.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Joab sandte Boten zu David und ließ ihm sagen: Ich habe wider Rabba gestritten, habe auch die Wasserstadt eingenommen;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Misitque Joab nuntios ad David, dicens: Dimicavi adversum Rabbath, et capienda est Urbs aquarum.