2 Samuel 23:6

2Sa 23:6 But [the sons] of Belial [shall be] all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:

Ver. 6. But the sons of Belial.] Lawless, aweless, yokeless, masterless men, or monsters rather, such as contemn the word, and refuse to be reformed; untractable, incorrigible, such as were the Jews in Christ’s time, and so continue to be.

Shall be all of them as thorns.] That bear no good fruit, but only pricks, to hurt those that meddle with them. These shall be thrust away, that is, powerfully proceeded against; they shall be stubbed up by the roots, and burnt, viz., in hell fire. Those refractory Jews, for instance, on whom wrath came to the utmost, because "they pleased not God, but were contrary to all men," {1Th 2:15-16} and the same is and shall be seen in Antichrist and his adherents, cast alive into the lake of fire. {Rev 19:20}

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.

2Sa 23:6-7. But the sons of Belial — Having in the foregoing verses described the nature and stability of that kingdom which God had, by a sure covenant, settled upon him and his seed; and especially upon the Messiah, who was to be one of his posterity; he now describes the nature and miserable condition of all the enemies of this holy and blessed kingdom. Shall be all as thorns — Which men do not use to handle, but thrust them away. And so will God thrust away from himself, and from his people and kingdom, all those who shall either secretly or openly set themselves against it. That shall touch them must be fenced — He must arm himself with some iron weapon, whereby he may cut them down; or, with the staff of a spear, or some such thing, whereby he may thrust them away from himself, that they do him no hurt. They shall be utterly burned — Or, if men do not cut them down or thrust them away, they will burn and consume them. The place — Or, in their place, where they grow or stand.

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

23:6 Cp. Ps 1:4-5.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns] There is no word in the text for sons; it is simply Belial, the good-for-nothing man, and may here refer - first to Saul, and secondly to the enemies of our Lord.

As thorns thrust away] A metaphor taken from hedging; the workman thrusts the thorns aside either with his bill or hand, protected by his impenetrable mitten or glove, till, getting a fair blow at the roots, he cuts them all down. The man is fenced with iron, and the handle of his bill is like the staff of a spear. This is a good representation of the dubbing-bill, with which they slash the thorn hedge on each side before they level the tops by the pruning-shears. The handle is five or six feet long. This is a perfectly natural and intelligible image.

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

(6) The sons of Belial.—According to the Masoretic punctuation, Belial is not here in the common form, but in the stronger abstract form=worthlessness. The coming in of Divine righteousness leads not only to the assimilation of that which is holy, but also to the rejection of that which is evil, by a law as necessary and immutable as that of action and reaction in the material world. The figures used are to show that, although the wicked injure whatever touches them, means will yet be found by which they may safely be put out of the way.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. But the sons of Belial] But the wicked, &c. All ungodly men and evil things are described as worthlessness or wickedness. Their judgment and destruction is the necessary consequence of the perfect rule of the righteous king. Cp. Mat_13:41.

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.

But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away,.... Not like the tender grass that springs up, and flourishes after rain, and the sunshine upon that; but like thorns, useless, hurtful, and pernicious, and fit only for burning: this is true of wicked men in general, that cast off the yoke of the Lord, and become unprofitable, as Belial signifies; and of wicked governors in particular, who, instead of being helpful, are harmful to a commonwealth; and instead of being the joy and comfort of their subjects, and of giving pleasure to them, and making them cheerful and prosperous, give pain and trouble, and cause grief and sorrow; and are, if possible, to be thrust away, and deposed from government:

because they cannot be taken with hands; thorns cannot be handled and gently dealt with, but some instrument must be used to put them away with force; so wicked men, and especially wicked rulers, are untractable, and not to be managed in a gentle way, and therefore violent ones must be taken.

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

But. This word is neglected by the Septuagint, who enjoin this to the preceding verse. "Because the lawless man shall not flourish. They are all like thorns thrust out, for they shall not be handled," lest they prick. (Haydock)

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).

The sons of Belial, or, the men of Belial, as it is expressed 2Sa 16:7, and elsewhere. Having in the foregoing verses described the nature, and felicity, and stability of that kingdom which God himself had by a sure and everlasting covenant settled upon him and his seed; and especially, upon the Messiah, who was to be one of his posterity; he now describes the quality, the mischievous nature, the hazardous and miserable condition, of all the enemies of this holy and blessed kingdom, whom he justly calleth sons of Belial, because they rebelled against God’s appointment, and against that king whom God had set over them; for which reason others are so called, 1Sa 10:27; 2Ch 13:7.

As thorns thrust away which men do not use to handle, as they do other trees, but thrust them away from themselves, by some instrument chosen for that purpose. And so will God remove or thrust away from himself, and from his people and kingdom, all those who shall either secretly or openly set themselves against it. And this may be here added, either,

1. By way of prescription to rulers, whom, as before he admonished to be just and kind to their people, 2Sa 23:3,4; so here he requires them to be severe in punishing and purging away wicked and incorrigible men from about his throne, and from among his people; the encouraging of the good, and the punishing of the bad, being the two chief works of every good magistrate, and the two pillars of all government. Or,

2. By way of caution; to show, that notwithstanding the holiness, and happiness, and sureness of this kingdom, yet there would be sons of Belial in it, who would endeavour to disturb and overthrow it, but to no purpose; for all their projects against it should be vain, and fall upon their own heads.

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

6. The worthless — Literally, worthlessness, an elliptical expression for worthless or wicked men, depicting the godless as personified worthlessness. He doubtless had in mind the profane and godless enemies who had been to him, all through his own reign, a source of vexation and anxiety, including also such as Saul and his partisans, Shimei and his sympathizers, traitors among his own familiar friends, like Ahithophel, and even the sons of Zeruiah.

As thorns thrust aside — As the prickly shrubs which are hated and destroyed by husbandmen; apt illustration of the wicked.

Not in the hand may they be taken — As all who have tried it know. So, too, he who carelessly, or without properly guarding himself, meddles with the godless, must suffer injury. David found Joab as a prickly thorn when he injudiciously attempted to transfer his office to Amasa.

Filled with iron — That is, defended with some sort of iron armour to protect his flesh against the thorns. The expression is elliptical, and comes from filling one’s hand with any thing; that is, taking in hand, or providing one’s self with, means of defence. So the righteous ruler must be armed with all needful authority and power to make himself a terror to evil doers, and show that he beareth not the sword in vain. See Rom_13:1-6.

Shaft of a spear — The long wooden handle or staff by which the husbandman may lop the bush, and cut its roots without being hurt. Thorns thus cut were used for burning lime. Isa_33:12. Dr. Thomson saw people in the north of Palestine cutting up thorns with their mattocks and pruning hooks, and gathering them into bundles for the lime-kiln.

Burned in their place — That is, the place where they grew. The same observant traveller just referred to says: “It is a curious fidelity to real life that, when the thorns are merely to be destroyed, they are never cut up, but set on fire where they grow.”

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

Vers. 6, 7. The sons of Belial; Hebrew, belial; not a proper name, but a word signifying "worthlessness," and especially vicious worthlessness. (see note on 1Sa_1:16) It is from this worthlessness that opposition arises to the just king, and he recognizes it as that which thwarts his efforts. The words may be rendered

But the ungodly are as thorns, to be all of them thrust away; For they may not be taken hold of with the hand. And the man that would touch them Must arm himself with iron and the staff of a spear; And they shall be utterly burned with fire unto nothingness.

The vicious worthlessness which opposes righteous government must be treated like thorns, too prickly and sharp pointed for gentle dealing. They must be torn up by an iron hook fixed to the end of a spear-handle, and then burnt. The word translated in the same place in the Authorized Version is rendered by Jerome "even to nothing;" and it is just the sort of phrase for which his authority is greatest; for he went to Palestine, and remained there several years, to study the language under Hebrew teachers on the spot. The Septuagint must have had a different reading, as it translates "their shame."

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

But - Having in the foregoing verses described the nature, and stability of that kingdom which God had by a sure covenant settled upon him and his seed; and especially, upon the Messiah, who was to be one of his posterity; he now describes the nature and miserable condition, of all the enemies of this holy and blessed kingdom. As thorns - Which men do not use to handle, but thrust them away. And so will God thrust away from himself, and from his people, and kingdom, all those who shall either secretly or openly set themselves against it.

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

General Information:

This concludes David's last words.

But the worthless will all be like thorns to be thrown away

Here the wicked person is compared to useless thorns. This can be stated in active form. AT: "But the wicked person is worthless and dangerous like thorns we throw away" (See: Simile and Active or Passive)

because they cannot be gathered by one's hands

"because no one can pick them up with his hands without the thorns hurting him"

They must be burned up where they lie

"Where thorns are found, that is where they must be burned." This means God will destroy wicked people.

translationWords

worthy

thorn

spear

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Like an itinerant thorn. Cordon in O.F. When [this thorn is] young it is soft. It then travels to and fro and eventually hardens until it is [so sharp that it is] unable to be held in one's hand.

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.