2 Samuel 4 · Verse 11

2 Samuel 4:11

How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
2 Samuel 4:11, King James Version

2 Samuel 4:11 in other translations

BSBHow much more, when wicked men kill a righteous man in his own house and on his own bed, shall I not now require his blood from your hands and remove you from the earth!”
WEBHow much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?”
ASVHow much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed, shall I not now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
YLTAlso--when wicked men have slain the righteous man in his own house, on his bed; and now, do not I require his blood of your hand, and have taken you away from the earth?'
DARBYhow much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? and should I not now demand his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
BBEHow much more, when evil men have put an upright person to death, in his house, sleeping on his bed, will I take payment from you for his blood, and have you cut off from the earth?
WebsterHow much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

What does 2 Samuel 4:11 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 How much more - Here are several things which aggravated the guilt of those wicked men. 1. Ish-bosheth was an innocent man, and therefore none could have any ground of quarrel against him. 2. He was in his own house, which was his sanctuary, and none but the worst of men would disturb him there. 3. He was upon his bed, resting in the heat of the day, and so free from suspicion that he was not even attended by his guards, nor had he his doors secured. To take away the life of such a man, in such circumstances, whom also they professed to hold as their sovereign, was the most abandoned treachery.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 4:8-12

A person may be glad to obtain his just wishes, and yet really regret the means by which he receives them. He may be sorry for the death of a person by which he is a gainer. These men shed innocent blood, from the basest motives. David justly executed vengeance upon them. He would not be beholden to any to help him by unlawful practices. God had helped him over many a difficulty, and through many a danger, therefore…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 4:8-12 →

2 Samuel 4:11 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.

אַ֞ף'afindeed?H637
כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
אֲנָשִׁ֣ים'a.na.ShimmenH582
רְשָׁעִ֗יםre.sha.'ImwickedH7563
הָרְג֧וּha.re.Guthey have killedH2026
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
אִישׁ\־'ish-a manH376
צַדִּ֛יקtza.DikrighteousH6662
בְּבֵית֖וֹbe.vei.Toin own house hisH1004
עַל\־'al-onH5921
מִשְׁכָּב֑וֹmish.ka.Voown bed hisH4904
וְעַתָּ֗הve.'a.Tahand thereforeH6258
הֲל֨וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808
אֲבַקֵּ֤שׁ'a.va.Keshwill I requireH1245
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
דָּמוֹ֙da.Moblood hisH1818
מִיֶּדְכֶ֔םmi.yed.Khemfrom hand yourH3027
וּבִעַרְתִּ֥יu.vi.'ar.Tiand I will removeH1197
אֶתְכֶ֖ם'et.Khem<obj.> youH853
מִן\־min-fromH4480
הָאָֽרֶץ\׃ha.'A.retzthe earthH776

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 4:11

  • Psalms 9:12

    When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

  • Proverbs 2:22

    But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.

  • Genesis 9:5-6

    And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

  • Numbers 35:31-34

    Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of Israel.

  • Habakkuk 1:4

    Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

  • Psalms 109:15

    Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth.

  • 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.

  • 1 John 3:12

    Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

  • Genesis 4:11

    And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand;

  • Genesis 6:13

    And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

  • 2 Samuel 3:27

    And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.

  • Proverbs 25:26

    A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
when wicked.
1Ki 2:32; Pr 25:26; Hab 1:4,12; 1Jo 3:12
require.
3:27,39; Ge 9:5,6; Ex 21:12; Nu 35:31-34; Ps 9:12
from.
Ge 4:11; 6:13; 7:23; Ex 9:15; Ps 109:15; Pr 2:22; Jer 10:11

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 4:10

    When one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:

  • 2 Samuel 4:11

    How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?

  • 2 Samuel 4:12

    And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish–bosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron.

Read all of 2 Samuel 4

2 Samuel 4:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
¿Cuánto más á los malos hombres que mataron á un hombre justo en su casa, y sobre su cama? Ahora pues, ¿no tengo yo de demandar su sangre de vuestras manos, y quitaros de la tierra?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
combien plus, quand de méchants hommes ont tué un homme juste dans sa maison, sur son lit! Et maintenant, ne redemanderai-je pas son sang de votre main; et ne vous exterminerai-je pas de la terre?
German
Elberfelder 1871
wieviel mehr, da gottlose Männer einen gerechten Mann in seinem Hause auf seiner Lagerstätte ermordet haben, sollte ich jetzt nicht sein Blut von eurer Hand fordern und euch wegschaffen von der Erde?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quanto magis nunc cum homines impii interfecerunt virum innoxium in domo sua, super lectum suum, non quæram sanguinem ejus de manu vestra, et auferam vos de terra?