25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive thee, to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
Blessed shalt thou be in thy coming in, and blessed shalt thou be in thy going out.
But I know thine abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy raging against me.
And he said to them, No; but to see the exposed places of the land are ye come.
Send one of you, that he may fetch your brother, but ye shall be imprisoned, and your words shall be put to the proof, whether the truth is in you; and if not, as Pharaoh lives, ye are spies.
But the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said to him, Make the man return, that he may go again to his place where thou hast appointed him, that he go not down with us to the battle, that in the battle he be not an adversary to us; for wherewith should this [fellow] reconcile himself to his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul smote his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And Achish called David, and said to him, [As] Jehovah liveth, thou art upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the camp is acceptable to me; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming to me to this day; but thou art not acceptable to the lords.
And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him secretly, and smote him there in the belly, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?
until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive-trees and of honey, that ye may live and not die; and hearken not to Hezekiah, when he persuades you, saying, Jehovah will deliver us.
Jehovah will keep thy going out and thy coming in, from henceforth and for evermore.
The Pharisees therefore answered them, Are ye also deceived?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Samuel 3
Commentary on 2 Samuel 3 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 3
The battle between Joab and Abner did not end the controversy between the two houses of Saul and David, but it is in this chapter working towards a period. Here is,
2Sa 3:1-6
Here is,
Thus was David's house strengthened; but it was Abner that made himself strong for the house of Saul, which is mentioned (v. 6) to show that, if he failed them, they would fall of course.
2Sa 3:7-21
Here,
2Sa 3:22-39
We have here an account of the murder of Abner by Joab, and David's deep resentment of it.