1 Kings 2:6

1Ki 2:6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.

Ver. 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom,] q.d., He is of a turbulent spirit, and will be apt enough to give thee just occasion to fall upon him. See that it be thoroughly done, for it lieth upon my conscience, that he hath hitherto passed unpunished. Of his adultery and murder we hear not a word, because he had made a thorough peace with God for those sins in his lifetime; he had compounded with his judge, &c.: but the cases of Joab and Shimei troubled him on his death bed.

And let not his hoar head, &c.] Let him be well punished, though he is now old, and hath done great exploits.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 2:6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom — What in reason and justice thou seest to be fit. For though I was forced to forbear him, I never forgave him. Let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace — Punish him according to his demerits. “This dying order of David,” says Dr. Dodd, referring to Dr. Chandler, “was an order worthy of a good king, and fit to be given in the last moments of his life. The crimes which drew down this punishment upon Joab, have already been expatiated upon. Many reasons concurred to prevent David’s calling him to an account; but it is plain he never forgot nor forgave his crime: nay, he could not, consistently with the law, have forgiven him if he had been inclined to it. His deferring his punishment so long, was no reason why he should always do it. Reasons of state prevented its being inflicted before, and reasons of state required its being put in execution at this juncture. In time of war it was dangerous to attempt it, on account of the power, influence, and military skill of Joab; in time of peace it was safe, because Joab’s power was then upon the decline, and his services were unnecessary. Joab was ambitions, enterprising, and restless, and having not proved very loyal to the father, might have practised the same perfidy against the son; who being young, and scarcely settled in his throne, might have suffered from his treachery, his want of fidelity, and his ambitions views, which were insatiable.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do . . . according to thy wisdom--Joab's immense popularity with the army required that any proceedings instituted against him should be taken with great prudence and deliberation.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. Let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.] It would have been an insult to justice not to have taken the life of Joab. David was culpable in delaying it so long; but probably the circumstances of his government would not admit of his doing it sooner. According to the law of God, Joab, having murdered Abner and Amasa, should die. And had not David commanded Solomon to perform this act of justice, he could not have died in the approbation of his Maker.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom] Compare 1Ki_2:9. The wisdom to which David in both cases alludes is a politic method of bringing these men to do something for which they might be put to death. Such men were specially dangerous in the court of a young king.

his hoar head] Most likely Joab was already an old man not much younger than David himself. This may account for some of the freedom of his speech to the king.

go down to the grave in peace] The advice is put in a more direct form in 1Ki_2:9, concerning Shimei, ‘Bring his hoar head down to the grave with blood.’

The Hebrew construction (the jussive after לא not אל) seems to imply a suggestion rather than a direct command. ‘I recommend you not to let,’ &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom,.... Which though young began to appear in him, even in the life of his father; he therefore exhorts him to use the wisdom he had, and take the first and fittest opportunity to cut him off for his former murders and late treason, as a dangerous man to his government and the peace of it:

and let not his hoary head go down to the grave in peace; that is, let him not die a natural, but a violent death; and let not his grey hairs be any argument for sparing him, or any reason for delaying the taking of him off, because he would in course die quickly; for he must be now an old man, as old as David, or perhaps older; since he had been his general forty years, even all the time of his reign; see Sa2 2:13.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

His hoar head - Joab, though the nephew of David, was probably not very greatly his junior, David being the youngest of the family, and Zeruiah, as is most likely, one of the eldest.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

To hell. This word hell doth not signify the place or state of damnation; but the place and state of the dead. (Challoner) --- It would have been a great scandal if this murderer had died quietly in his old age. Joab had rendered great services to his uncle, for which he had been rewarded. He had been at the head of the armies 40 years. His great age rendered him now less formidable; particularly as the nation enjoyed peace.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

According to thy wisdom, i.e. what in reason and justice thou seest fit. For though I was forced to forbear him when it was in a manner out of my power to punish him, yet I never forgave him; and therefore do thou wisely and severely examine all his actions, and particularly this last rebellion, and punish him according to his demerits.

Let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace; though he be old, having been the general of the army forty years, yet do not suffer him to die a natural death, but cut him off by the sword of justice.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. His hoar head — Gray hairs are venerable, but the hoary headed sinner is not to be saved by his whitened locks. Joab was doubtless younger than David, but still far gone in years. We need not deny that David had feelings of personal revenge towards this man who had injured him so much, for we are not to look for the saintliness required by the New Testament in even the noble David. This dying charge, however, was evidently not the offspring of personal revenge, but a measure of administrative wisdom.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do therefore according to thy wisdom. (cf. Pro_20:26) It needed great discretion in exacting the punishment of death in theease of one who was so powerful, who had such influence with the army and the people, whose crimes had been passed over for so long a time, to whom David was so much indebted Joab had partly won and had twice preserved for him his crown and to whom he was allied by ties of blood. To act precipitately or unwisely might provoke a revolution, and let not his hoar head see on ver. 9. Joab, though David"s nephew, could not have been much his junior, and David was now seventy go down to the grave in peace. He must die a violent, not a natural death, as Corn. a Lap. This expression, no doubt, looks vindictive, but that is solely because we forget the character of the Old Testament dispensation (as one of temporal rewards and punishments. See the "Expositor," vol. 3. p. 114), the position of David as king (as the authorized dispenser of punishments, and as responsible to God for dispensing them without fear or favour), and the principles of the Mosaic code (as a lex talionis, demanding blood for blood, and requiring the magistrates and people to purge themselves of the guilt of blood by demanding "the blood of him that shed it"). Let these considerations be borne in mind, and there is absolutely no warrant for charging David with malevolence. Wordsworth lays stress on the fact that Joab had not repented of his crimes. But we need have recourse to no such suppositions. The Jewish law afforded no place of repentance to the murderer. No amount of contrition would cleanse the land of blood. The temporal penalty must be paid. In the case of David himself, it was only commuted by special revelation, (2Sa_12:10, 2Sa_12:13, 2Sa_12:14) not remitted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Do therefore - That is, what in reason and justice thou seest fit. For tho' I was forced to forbear him, yet I never forgave him; punish him according to his demerits.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

grave

Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And do not let his greying head go down to the grave in peace. Do not let him die a natural death [causing him] to fall into Gehinnom.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.