2 Samuel 20 · Verse 6

2 Samuel 20:6

And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.
2 Samuel 20:6, King James Version

2 Samuel 20:6 in other translations

BSBAnd David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord’s servants and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”
WEBDavid said to Abishai, “Now Sheba the son of Bichri will do us more harm than Absalom did. Take your lord’s servants and pursue after him, lest he get himself fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.”
ASVAnd David said to Abishai, Now will Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities, and escape out of our sight.
YLTand David saith unto Abishai, ‘Now doth Sheba son of Bichri do evil to us more than Absalom; thou, take the servants of thy lord, and pursue after him, lest he have found for himself fenced cities, and delivered himself from our eye.'
DARBYAnd David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom. Take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fortified cities and escape our sight.
BBEAnd David said to Abishai, Sheba, the son of Bichri, will do us more damage than Absalom did; so take some of your lord's servants and go after him, before he makes himself safe in the walled towns, and gets away before our eyes.
WebsterAnd David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord's servants, and pursue him, lest he get for himself fortified cities, and escape us.

What does 2 Samuel 20:6 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 20:4-13

Joab barbarously murdered Amasa. The more plot there is in a sin, the worse it is. Joab contentedly sacrificed the interest both of the king and the kingdom to his personal revenge. But one would wonder with what face a murderer could pursue a traitor; and how, under such a load of guilt, he had courage to enter upon danger: his conscience was seared.

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 20:4-13 →

2 Samuel 20:6 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.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
דָּוִד֙da.VidDavidH1732
אֶל\־'el-toH413
אֲבִישַׁ֔י'a.vi.ShaiAbishaiH52
עַתָּ֗ה'a.TahnowH6258
יֵ֧רַֽעYe.ra'he will be badH7489
לָ֛נוּLa.nufor <the> us
שֶׁ֥בַעShe.va'ShebaH7652
בֶּן\־ben-[the] son ofH1121
בִּכְרִ֖יbikh.RiBicriH1075
מִן\־min-more thanH4480
אַבְשָׁל֑וֹם'av.sha.LomAbsalomH53
אַ֠תָּה'A.tahyouH859
קַ֞חkachtakeH3947
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
עַבְדֵ֤י'av.Dei[the] servants ofH5650
אֲדֹנֶ֙יךָ֙'a.do.Nei.khamaster<s> yourH113
וּרְדֹ֣ףu.re.Dofand pursueH7291
אַחֲרָ֔יו'a.cha.Ravafter himH310
פֶּן\־pen-lestH6435
מָ֥צָאMa.tza'he has foundH4672
ל֛וֹlofor <the> himself
עָרִ֥ים'a.RimcitiesH5892
בְּצֻר֖וֹתbe.tzu.RotfortifiedH1219
וְהִצִּ֥ילve.hi.Tziland he will tear outH5337
עֵינֵֽנוּ\׃'ei.Ne.nueye ourH5869

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 20:6

  • 2 Samuel 21:17

    But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

  • 2 Samuel 11:11

    And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not do this thing.

  • 1 Kings 1:33

    The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon:

  • 2 Samuel 19:7

    Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.

  • 2 Samuel 10:9-10

    When Joab saw that the front of the battle was against him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon.

  • 2 Samuel 10:14

    And when the children of Ammon saw that the Syrians were fled, then fled they also before Abishai, and entered into the city. So Joab returned from the children of Ammon, and came to Jerusalem.

  • 2 Samuel 18:2

    And David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said unto the people, I will surely go forth with you myself also.

  • 2 Samuel 2:18

    And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe.

  • 2 Samuel 23:18

    And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.

  • 2 Samuel 18:12

    And the man said unto Joab, Though I should receive a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.

  • 2 Samuel 3:30

    So Joab and Abishai his brother slew Abner, because he had slain their brother Asahel at Gibeon in the battle.

  • 1 Samuel 26:6

    Then answered David and said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, Who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Abishai.
2:18; 3:30,39; 10:9,10,14; 18:2,12; 21:17; 23:18; 1Sa 26:6
1Ch 11:20; 18:12
do us.
19:7
thy lord's.
11:11; 1Ki 1:33
escape us. Heb. deliver himself from our eyes.

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 20:5

    So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah: but he tarried longer than the set time which he had appointed him.

  • 2 Samuel 20:6

    And David said to Abishai, Now shall Sheba the son of Bichri do us more harm than did Absalom: take thou thy lord’s servants, and pursue after him, lest he get him fenced cities, and escape us.

  • 2 Samuel 20:7

    And there went out after him Joab’s men, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and all the mighty men: and they went out of Jerusalem, to pursue after Sheba the son of Bichri.

Read all of 2 Samuel 20

2 Samuel 20:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y dijo David á Abisai: Seba hijo de Bichri nos hará ahora más mal que Absalom: toma pues tú los siervos de tu señor, y ve tras él, no sea que halle las ciudades fortificadas, y se nos vaya de delante.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et David dit à Abishaï: Maintenant Shéba, fils de Bicri, nous fera plus de mal qu’Absalom. Toi, prends les serviteurs de ton seigneur, et poursuis-le, de peur qu’il ne trouve des villes fortes, et qu’il ne se dérobe à nos yeux.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Da sprach David zu Abisai: Nun wird uns Scheba, der Sohn Bikris, mehr Übles tun als Absalom. Nimm du die Knechte deines Herrn und jage ihm nach, ob er nicht feste Städte für sich gefunden und sich unseren Augen entzogen hat.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ait autem David ad Abisai: Nunc magis afflicturus est nos Seba filius Bochri quam Absalom: tolle igitur servos domini tui, et persequere eum, ne forte inveniat civitates munitas, et effugiat nos.