2 Samuel 18 · Verse 14

2 Samuel 18:14

Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
2 Samuel 18:14, King James Version

2 Samuel 18:14 in other translations

BSBBut Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.
WEBThen Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this with you.” He took three darts in his hand and thrust them through Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the middle of the oak.
ASVThen said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
YLTAnd Joab saith, ‘Not right--I tarry before thee;' and he taketh three darts in his hand, and striketh them into the heart of Absalom, while he is alive, in the midst of the oak.
DARBYThen said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three spears in his hand, and thrust them into Absalom's body, while he was yet alive in the midst of the terebinth.
BBEThen Joab said, I would have made it safe for you. And he took three spears in his hand, and put them through Absalom's heart, while he was still living, in the branches of the tree.
WebsterThen said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

What does 2 Samuel 18:14 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
14. he took three darts ... and thrust them through the heart of Absalom--The deed, partially done by Joab, was completed by his bodyguard. Being a violation of the expressed wish, as well as of all the fond paternal feelings of David, it must have been deeply offensive to the king, nor was it ever forgotten (1Ki 2:5); and yet there is the strongest reason for believing that Joab, in doing it, was actuated by a sincere regard to the interests of David, both as a man and a monarch.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 I may not tarry thus with thee - He had nothing to say in vindication of the purpose he had formed. Thrust them through the heart of Absalom - He was determined to make sure work, and therefore he pierced his heart. Joab should have obeyed the king's commandment: and yet the safety of the state required the sacrifice of Absalom. But independently of this, his life was quadruply forfeited to the law: - 1. In having murdered his brother Amnon. 2. In having excited an insurrection in the state. 3. In having taken up arms against his own father, Deu 21:18, Deu 21:21. 4. In having lain with his father's concubines, Lev 18:29. Long ago he should have died by the hand of justice; and now all his crimes are visited on him in his last act of rebellion. Yet, in the present circumstances, Joab's act was base and disloyal, and a cowardly murder.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 18:9-18

Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God.

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 18:9-18 →

2 Samuel 18:14 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.

וַיֹּ֣אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יוֹאָ֔בyo.'AvJoabH3097
לֹא\־lo'-notH3808
כֵ֖ןkhenthusH3651
אֹחִ֣ילָה'o.Chi.lahI will waitH3176
לְפָנֶ֑יךָle.fa.Nei.kha<to> before youH6440
וַיִּקַּח֩vai.yi.Kachand he tookH3947
שְׁלֹשָׁ֨הshe.lo.ShahthreeH7969
שְׁבָטִ֜יםshe.va.TimspearsH7626
בְּכַפּ֗וֹbe.kha.Poin hand hisH3709
וַיִּתְקָעֵם֙vai.yit.ka.'Emand he thrust themH8628
בְּלֵ֣בbe.Levin [the] heart ofH3820
אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם'av.sha.LomAbsalomH53
עוֹדֶ֥נּוּo.De.nustill heH5750
חַ֖יchai[was] aliveH2416
בְּלֵ֥בbe.Levin [the] heart ofH3820
הָאֵלָֽה\׃ha.'e.Lahthe oakH424

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 18:14

  • 2 Samuel 18:5

    And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom. And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom.

  • Matthew 12:40

    For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

  • 2 Samuel 14:30

    Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:3

    For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

  • Judges 4:21

    Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.

  • Psalms 45:5

    Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.

  • Judges 5:26

    She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.

  • Judges 5:31

    So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
with thee. Heb. before thee. thrust them.
5; Jud 4:21; 5:26,31; Ps 45:5; 1Th 5:3
midst. Heb. heart.
Mt 12:40

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 18:13

    Otherwise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.

  • 2 Samuel 18:14

    Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.

  • 2 Samuel 18:15

    And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.

Read all of 2 Samuel 18

2 Samuel 18:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y respondió Joab: No es razón que yo te ruegue. Y tomando tres dardos en sus manos, hincólos en el corazón de Absalom, que aun estaba vivo en medio del alcornoque.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Joab dit: Je ne m’attarderai pas ainsi devant toi. Et il prit trois javelots dans sa main, et les enfonça dans le cœur d’Absalom, alors qu’il était encore vivant au milieu du térébinthe.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Da sprach Joab: Ich mag nicht also vor dir warten. Und er nahm drei Spieße in seine Hand und stieß sie in das Herz Absaloms, während er noch inmitten der Terebinthe lebte.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ait Joab: Non sicut tu vis, sed aggrediar eum coram te. Tulit ergo tres lanceas in manu sua, et infixit eas in corde Absalom: cumque adhuc palpitaret hærens in quercu,