2 Samuel 23:7

2Sa 23:7 But the man [that] shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the [same] place.

Ver. 7. And they shall be utterly burnt with fire in the same place,] sc., Where they grew, or whither they are thrust away. Certain it is they shall be utterly destroyed here or in hell, as those stubborn Jews were who crucified Christ. The Romans came upon them with their iron weapons, killed innumerable of them in the very same place, and burnt down their city. "And when the king heard thereof," - that as thorns they drew blood of his dearest servants, or at least were as thorns in their eyes, {Jos 4:13} untractable, untameable, and, therefore, fit for the fire, {Heb 6:8} - "he was wroth, and sent forth his armies," the Romans, "and destroyed those murderers, and burnt up their city." {Mat 22:7}

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.

(7) Fenced with iron.—The thorns are to be handled with an iron hook on the end of a spear staff. The phrase, “in the same place,” is used only here, and its meaning is quite uncertain. The Vulg. translates, to nothing, meaning to utter destruction; the LXX. substitutes the word shame. The English rendering is as well sustained as any.

The Chaldee Targum upon these verses is very interesting, as giving the ancient Jewish interpretation of the prophecy. It is a much enlarged paraphrase, but gives a Messianic application to the whole. The following is a close translation of 2Sa_23:1-3 : “(1) These are the words of the prophecy of David, which he prophesied concerning the end of the age, concerning the days of consolation which are to come. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was exalted to the kingdom said, the anointed by the word of the God of Jacob, and appointed that he might preside over the sweetness of the praises of Israel. (2) David said, In the spirit of prophecy of the Lord I speak these things, and the words of His holiness do I order in my mouth. (3) David said, The God of Israel spake concerning me, the Strong One of Israel who ruleth over the sons of men, the true Judge, said that He would appoint for me a king; He is the Messiah, who shall arise and rule in the fear of the Lord.”

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

7. But the man, &c.] But the man who toucheth them must arm himself with iron and a spear shaft. The thorns cannot be touched by hand, but must be torn up with an iron hook fastened to a long handle. The expression is chosen so as to be applicable to the enemies who are figured, as well as to the thorns which figure them.

burnt with fire] Cp. Mat_3:10; Mat_13:30; Luk_19:27; Heb_6:8.

in the same place] Or perhaps, until they are consumed. But the word is probably not part of the true text, and should be omitted altogether.

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 man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear,.... To remove these thorns, or sons of Belial, out of the way, or to defend himself against them; or weapons of war must be made use of to conquer and destroy them, according to the sense of Ben Gersom, and which De Dieu follows; a man that meddles with them must expect to be as much hurt and wounded by them, all over the body, as if not only the point or iron head of a spear, but the wood or handle of the spear, were thrust up in him; but the former sense seems best:

and they shall be utterly burnt with fire in the same place: where the thorns grew, or whither they are removed, or are sitting; where persons are sitting to warm themselves by them: and this may be understood of the destruction of wicked rulers, when their kingdom is taken from them, and they are consumed root and branch; and was true not only of Saul, and his posterity, as some apply it, and of Jeroboam, and those like to him, as the above Jewish writer; but of the wicked Jews, and their rulers, those sons of Belial, who rejected the yoke of Christ, and would not have him to rule over them; to whom the Lord sent the Roman armies fenced with swords and spears, and burnt their city, and destroyed them in the same place; and may take in antichrist, and antichristian states, those sons of Belial, of the wicked and lawless one, the son of perdition, whose city, Rome, shall be burnt with fire; and even all wicked men, at the great day of judgment, to which the Targum refers these words; when they, whose end, like thorns, is to be burnt, will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

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

The staff of a spear; so the meaning is, he must fill his hand, or arm himself with some iron weapon, whereby he may cut them down; or, with the staff of a spear, or some such like thing, whereby he may thrust them away from himself, that they do him no hurt. Or thus, he will be filled, or will fill himself, i. e. his hand, wherewith he attempted to touch and take them, with thorns, as

with iron and the staff of a spear; i.e. he will be as surely and sorely wounded, as if one should run the iron head and part of the wood of a spear into his hand.

And they shall be utterly burned, or, therefore; because men cannot safely touch them, therefore they will burn them up. Or, or, i.e. if they do not cut them down with iron, or thrust them away with the staff of a spear, they will burn and consume them.

In the same place, or, in their place, where they grow or stand; and they will not trouble not hazard themselves to remove them. Withal, it may imply that they shall be destroyed when and where they thought themselves most secure, even in their own place. And it may possibly intimate, that those children of Belial, the wicked and unbelieving Jews, who rejected and rebelled against the Messiah, David’s successor, and their lawful King, should be destroyed in their great, and strong, and holy city Jerusalem, where the greatest part of that people were gathered together as fuel for the fire, and were destroyed together by the Romans under Titus, where also their wicked predecessors had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in former times.

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

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. Burnt - Or, if they 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.

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

Any man wanting to touch them should don. He must cover his body with armor and arm himself with a weapon to cut it down

They will be completely burnt totally consumed by fire. There is no solution other then burning [these thorns] and to sit and warm oneself by the fire. So too, for the wicked there is no solution other then burning in Gehennom.

[While one] sits. [A reference to] God sitting on the throne of Judgement.

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.