2 Samuel 17 · Verse 13

2 Samuel 17:13

Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.

2 Samuel 17:13, King James Version

2 Samuel 17:13 in other translations

BSB	If he retreats to a city, all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a pebble can be found.”
WEB	Moreover, if he has gone into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there isn’t one small stone found there.”
ASV	Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.
YLT	And if unto a city he is gathered, then they have caused all Israel to bear unto that city ropes, and we have drawn it unto the brook till that there hath not been found there even a stone.'
DARBY	And if he withdraw into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the torrent, until there be not one small stone found there.
BBE	And if he has gone into some town, then let all Israel take strong cords to that town, and we will have it pulled into the valley, till not one small stone is to be seen there.
Webster	Moreover, if he shall have entered into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there is not one small stone found there.

What does 2 Samuel 17:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

13. all Israel shall bring ropes to that city--In besieging a town, hooks or cranes were often thrown upon the walls or turrets, by which, with ropes attached to them, the besiegers, uniting all their force, pulled down the fortifications in a mass of ruins.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 13 Shall all Israel bring ropes to that city - The original word חבלים chabalim, which signifies ropes, and from which we have our word cable, may have some peculiarity of meaning here; for it is not likely that any city could be pulled down with ropes. The Chaldee, which should be best judge in this case, translates the original word by משרין mashreyan, towers: this gives an easy sense.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 17:1-21

Here was a wonderful effect of Divine Providence blinding Absalom's mind and influencing his heart, that he could not rest in Ahithophel's counsel, and that he should desire Hushai's advice. But there is no contending with that God who can arm a man against himself, and destroy him by his own mistakes and passions. Ahithophel's former counsel was followed, for God intended to correct David; but his latter counsel…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 17:1-21 →

2 Samuel 17:13 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.

וְאִם\־ve.'im-and ifH518

אֶל\־'el-intoH413

עִיר֙'ira cityH5892

יֵֽאָסֵ֔ףye.'a.Sefhe will be gatheredH622

וְהִשִּׂ֧יאוּve.hi.Si.'uand they will cause to bringH5375

כָֽל\־khol-allH3605

יִשְׂרָאֵ֛לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478

אֶל\־'el-toH413

הָעִ֥ירha.'Irthe cityH5892

הַהִ֖יאha.Hi'<the> thatH1931

חֲבָלִ֑יםcha.va.LimropesH2256

וְסָחַ֤בְנוּve.sa.Chav.nuand we will dragH5498

אֹתוֹ֙'o.To<obj.> himH853

עַד\־'ad-toH5704

הַנַּ֔חַלha.Na.chalthe wadiH5158

עַ֛ד'aduntilH5704

אֲשֶֽׁר\־'a.Sher-thatH834

לֹא\־lo'-notH3808

נִמְצָ֥אnim.Tza'it has been foundH4672

שָׁ֖םshamthereH8033

גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571

צְרֽוֹר\׃\ \פtze.Rora pebbleH6872

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 17:13

Matthew 24:2
And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Micah 1:6
Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

bring ropes.In the same manner the king of Maturan, in Java, proposed pulling down a tower which the Dutch had built, by making his people and elephants pull at a number of chains, and ropes of cocoa-nut bark, thrown around it.
one small.
Mt 24:2

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

Context

2 Samuel 17:12
So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
2 Samuel 17:13
Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.
2 Samuel 17:14
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the Lord had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom.

Read all of 2 Samuel 17

2 Samuel 17:13 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y si se recogiere en alguna ciudad, todos los de Israel traerán sogas á aquella ciudad, y la arrastraremos hasta el arroyo, que nunca más parezca piedra de ella.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et s’il s’est retiré dans une ville, alors tout Israël apportera des cordes vers cette ville-là, et nous la traînerons jusque dans le torrent, jusqu’à ce qu’il ne s’en trouve pas même une petite pierre.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und wenn er sich in eine Stadt zurückzieht, so soll ganz Israel Seile an jene Stadt legen, und wir schleppen sie an den Fluß, bis dort auch nicht ein Steinchen mehr gefunden wird.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Quod si urbem aliquam fuerit ingressus, circumdabit omnis Israël civitati illi funes, et trahemus eam in torrentem, ut non reperiatur ne calculus quidem ex ea.