2 Samuel 21 · Verse 3

2 Samuel 21:3

Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
2 Samuel 21:3, King James Version

2 Samuel 21:3 in other translations

BSBSo David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?”
WEBand David said to the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? And with what should I make atonement, that you may bless the LORD’s inheritance?”
ASVand David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?
YLTyea, David saith unto the Gibeonites, ‘What do I do for you? and with what do I make atonement? and bless ye the inheritance of Jehovah.'
DARBYAnd David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and with what shall I make atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of Jehovah?
BBESo David said to the Gibeonites, What may I do for you? how am I to make up to you for your wrongs, so that you may give a blessing to the heritage of the Lord?
WebsterWherefore David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and with what shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?

What does 2 Samuel 21:3 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 Wherewith shall I make the atonement - It is very strange that a choice of this kind should be left to such a people. Why not ask this of God himself?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 21:1-9

Every affliction arises from sin, and should lead us to repent and humble ourselves before God; but some troubles especially show that they are sent to bring sin to remembrance. God's judgments often look a great way back, which requires us to do so, when we are under his rebukes. It is not for us to object against the people's smarting for the sin of their king; perhaps they helped him. Nor against this generation…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 21:1-9 →

2 Samuel 21:3 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
הַגִּבְעֹנִ֔יםha.giv.'o.Nimthe GibeonitesH1393
מָ֥הmahwhat?H4100
אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה'e.'e.Sehwill I doH6213
לָכֶ֑םla.Khemfor <the> you
וּבַמָּ֣הu.va.Mahand <in> how?H4100
אֲכַפֵּ֔ר'a.kha.Perwill I make amendsH3722
וּבָרְכ֖וּu.va.re.Khuand blessH1288
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
נַחֲלַ֥תna.cha.Lat[the] inheritance ofH5159
יְהוָֽה\׃Yah.wehYahwehH3068

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 21:3

  • Hebrews 9:22

    And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

  • 2 Samuel 20:19

    I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord?

  • 1 Samuel 26:19

    Now therefore, I pray thee, let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If the Lord have stirred thee up against me, let him accept an offering: but if they be the children of men, cursed be they before the Lord; for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, Go, serve other gods.

  • Micah 6:6-7

    Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

  • Hebrews 10:4-12

    For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. …

  • Exodus 32:30

    And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin.

  • 1 Samuel 2:25

    If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the Lord, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the Lord would slay them.

  • Leviticus 1:4

    And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
wherewith.
Ex 32:30; Le 1:4; 1Sa 2:25; Mic 6:6,7; Heb 9:22; 10:4-12
bless.
20:19

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 21:2

    And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)

  • 2 Samuel 21:3

    Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

  • 2 Samuel 21:4

    And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

Read all of 2 Samuel 21

2 Samuel 21:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Dijo pues David á los Gabaonitas: ¿Qué os haré, y con qué expiaré para que bendigáis á la heredad de Jehová?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et David dit aux Gabaonites: Que ferai-je pour vous, et avec quoi ferai-je expiation, de sorte que vous bénissiez l’héritage de l’ Éternel?
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und David sprach zu den Gibeonitern: Was soll ich für euch tun, und womit soll ich Sühnung tun, daß ihr das Erbteil Jehovas segnet?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
dixit ergo David ad Gabaonitas: Quid faciam vobis? et quod erit vestri piaculum, ut benedicatis hæreditati Domini?