2 Samuel 3 · Verse 39

2 Samuel 3:39

And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.
2 Samuel 3:39, King James Version

2 Samuel 3:39 in other translations

BSBAnd I am weak this day, though anointed as king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too fierce for me. May the LORD repay the evildoer according to his evil!”
WEBI am weak today, though anointed king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. May the LORD reward the evildoer according to his wickedness.”
ASVAnd I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the evil-doer according to his wickedness.
YLTand I to-day am tender, and an anointed king: and these men, sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me; Jehovah doth recompense to the doer of the evil according to his evil.'
DARBYAnd I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me: Jehovah reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness!
BBEWhile I, though I am crowned king, have little strength, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are out of my control: may the Lord give to the evil-doer the reward of his evil-doing!
WebsterAnd I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah are too hard for me. The LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.

What does 2 Samuel 3:39 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 39 I am this day weak - Had Abner lived, all the tribes of Israel would have been brought under my government. Though anointed king - I have little else than the title: first, having only one tribe under my government; and secondly, the sons of Zeruiah, Joab and his brethren, having usurped all the power, and reduced me to the shadow of royalty. The Lord shall reward the doer of evil - That is, Joab, whom he appears afraid to name. We talk much of ancient manners, their simplicity and ingenuousness; and say that the former days were better than these. But who says this who is a judge of the times? In those days of celebrated simplicity, etc., there were not so many crimes as at present I grant: but what they wanted in number they made up in degree: deceit, cruelty, rapine, murder, and wrong of almost every kind, then flourished. We are refined in our vices; they were gross and barbarous in theirs: they had neither so many ways nor so many means of sinning; but the sum of their moral turpitude was greater than ours. We have a sort of decency and good breeding, which lay a certain restraint on our passions, they were boorish and beastly, and their bad passions were ever in full play. Civilization prevents barbarity and atrocity; mental cultivation induces decency of manners: those primitive times were generally without these. Who that knows them would wish such ages to return?

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 3:22-39

Judgments are prepared for such scorners as Abner; but Joab, in what he did, acted wickedly. David laid Abner's murder deeply to heart, and in many ways expressed his detestation of it. The guilt of blood brings a curse upon families: if men do not avenge it, God will. It is a sad thing to die like a fool, as they do that any way shorten their own days, and those who make no provision for another world. Who would be…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 3:22-39 →

2 Samuel 3:39 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.

וְאָנֹכִ֨יve.'a.no.Khiand IH595
הַיּ֥וֹםhai.Yomthis dayH3117
רַךְ֙raKh[am] weakH7390
וּמָשׁ֣וּחַu.ma.Shu.achand [am] anointedH4886
מֶ֔לֶךְMe.lekhkingH4428
וְהָאֲנָשִׁ֥יםve.ha.'a.na.Shimand the menH582
הָאֵ֛לֶּהha.'E.leh<the> theseH428
בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei[the] sons ofH1121
צְרוּיָ֖הtze.ru.YahZeruiahH6870
קָשִׁ֣יםka.Shim[are too] hardH7186
מִמֶּ֑נִּיmi.Me.nifor meH4480
יְשַׁלֵּ֧םye.sha.Lemmay he repayH7999
יְהוָ֛הYah.wehYahwehH3068
לְעֹשֵׂ֥הle.'o.Sehto [the] doer ofH6213
הָרָעָ֖הha.ra.'Ahthe evilH7451
כְּרָעָתֽוֹ\׃\ \פke.ra.'a.Toaccording to evil hisH7451

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 3:39

  • Psalms 28:4

    Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.

  • Psalms 101:8

    I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.

  • 1 Kings 2:33-34

    Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the Lord. So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.

  • 2 Timothy 4:14

    Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:

  • Proverbs 25:5

    Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.

  • 1 Kings 2:5-6

    Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

  • Psalms 62:12

    Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

  • 2 Samuel 19:5-7

    And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. 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 19:13

    And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

  • Romans 13:4

    For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

  • 2 Chronicles 19:6-7

    And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

  • Psalms 75:10

    All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I am.
Ex 21:12; 2Ch 19:6,7; Ps 75:10; 101:8; Pr 20:8; 25:5
weak. Heb. tender.
1Ch 22:5; Isa 7:4; *marg:
Ro 13:4
the sons.
1Ch 2:15,16
too hard.
19:6,7,13
the Lord.
1Ki 2:5,6,33,34; Ps 7:16; 28:4; 62:12; 2Ti 4:14

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 3:38

    And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

  • 2 Samuel 3:39

    And I am this day weak, though anointed king; and these men the sons of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.

Read all of 2 Samuel 3

2 Samuel 3:39 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Que yo ahora aun soy tierno rey ungido; y estos hombres, los hijos de Sarvia, muy duros me son: Jehová dé el pago al que mal hace, conforme á su malicia.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et moi, je suis aujourd’hui faible, bien que j’aie reçu l’onction de roi; et ces hommes-là, les fils de Tseruïa, sont trop durs pour moi. Que l’ Éternel rende à celui qui fait le mal, selon son méfait!
German
Elberfelder 1871
Ich aber bin heute schwach, obschon zum König gesalbt; und diese Männer, die Söhne der Zeruja, sind zu hart für mich. Jehova vergelte dem, der das Böse tut, nach seiner Bosheit!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ego autem adhuc delicatus, et unctus rex: porro viri isti filii Sarviæ duri sunt mihi: retribuat Dominus facienti malum juxta malitiam suam.