2 Samuel 3:34

2Sa 3:34 Thy hands [were] not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters: as a man falleth before wicked men, [so] fellest thou. And all the people wept again over him.

Ver. 34. Thy hands were not bound.] As one either conquered or condemned. Hadst thou not been treacherously surprised and assassinated, manibus pedibusque obnixe omnia fecisses, thou wouldst have made thy party good with the stoutest he, and have stood with Joab in a trial of manhood.

So fellest thou.] Before this wicked Joab. And this perhaps was the elegy appointed to be sung at Abner’s funeral, to the reproach of Joab, whom David durst not as yet otherwise punish: but that he deferred it so long, when he had power in his hand, was an oversight.

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_3:34

Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters.

The moral of affliction

I. What there is in the text expressive of afflictive scenes.

1. Let us observe, that the text contains the speech, which was made at the grave of a very respectable person.

2. The next thing observable in the text, is the manner of describing a death, that was brought about by the most execrable villany.

3. The text concludes with assuring us, that the concern for such a death, of such a person, was deep and universal.

II. What useful lessons such a scene of affliction hath a more peculiar tendency to inculcate upon us.

1. It should more deeply convince us, that sin is the worst and greatest of all evils.

2. This scene of affliction may lead us to reflect on the vanity, which attends human life, even in its most prosperous state. Let Ira, on this occasion, thankfully acknowledge our obligations to Divine Providence, for the continuance of our lives and comforts. (B. Fawcett, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:34 a wicked plot: Normal warfare could not defeat Abner, a seasoned warrior. Only treachery could.

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

(34) Thy hands were not bound.—The people were moved greatly by the sight of David’s sorrow, but still more by this brief elegy over Abner. The whole circumstances are summed up in a few pregnant words: Abner, so valiant in war, with his hands free for defence, with his feet unfettered, unsuspicious of evil, fell by the treacherous act of a wicked man.

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

34. Thy hands, &c.] Two explanations of these words seem possible; either (1) Thou hadst not committed any crime to deserve a malefactor’s punishment, but wast causelessly murdered by treacherous enemies: or (2) How was it that thou wast slain while thy hands were at liberty to defend thyself, thy feet free to escape by flight? It was because thou wast attacked unsuspectingly by treacherous enemies. In the first case “fool” in 2Sa_3:33 is equivalent to “miscreant.” It is a term which frequently in the O.T. implies moral worthlessness, wickedness. Cp. Psa_14:1. The Targum here renders it “the wicked.” In the second case it means “an ignoble churl who cannot defend himself.”

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.

Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters,.... As malefactors are when they are taken up for any crime, and especially when proved upon them, and condemned for it, and brought forth to be executed. This was not his case, and had he been aware of the design against him, as his hands and feet were at liberty, he might have defended himself; or if he found he had too many to deal with, might have made use of his feet and fled:

as a man falleth before wicked men, so fellest thou; as a man being before bloodthirsty and deceitful men, falls before them, through treachery and deceit, privately and unawares, so fell Abner before Joab and Abishai; this David said in the presence of Joab, and before all the people, to declare the plain fact how it was, to express his detestation of it, and to show he had no hand in it; and Joab must be an hardened creature to stand at the grave of Abner, and hear all this, and not be affected with it:

and all the people wept again over him; over Abner, being laid in his grave; they had wept before, but hearing this funeral oration delivered by the king in such moving language, and in such a mournful tone, it drew tears afresh from them.

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

Thy hands were not bound ... - This thought prepares the way for the solution; Abner had been treacherously murdered by wicked men.

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

Iniquity. David does not spare Joab, in this canticle, which was sung by all the people. (Calmet) --- He intimates, that if he had not used deceit, Abner would not have been so easily overcome. (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).

Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters; thou didst not tamely yield up thyself to Joab, as his prisoner, to be bound hand and foot, at his pleasure. Joab did not overcome thee generously and honourably in an equal combat, nor durst he attempt thee in that way, as a general or soldier of any worth would have done.

Before wicked men; or, before, i. e. in the presence or by the hands of froward, or perverse, or crooked men, by hypocrisy and perfidiousness, whereby the vilest coward may kill the most valiant person. Thus he reproached Joab to his very face, before all the people; which was a great evidence of his own innocency herein; because otherwise Joab, being so powerful, and proud, and petulant to his sovereign, would never have taken the shame and blame of it wholly to himself, as he did.

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

34. Thy hands… not bound — Thou wast not delivered up to death bound hand and foot, like a convicted malefactor, for thou wast guilty of no crime that called for such penalty. Some think that here is an allusion to a custom of delivering up, bound hand and foot, to the avenger of blood, the person who had fled for safety to one of the cities of refuge.

Num_35:6.

As a man falleth before wicked men — The victim of jealous and desperate passions.

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

Thy hands were not bound. Abner had been put to death by Joab for killing Asahel. But there had been no legal process. He had not been brought in fetters before a judge to be tried for the crime alleged, but murdered for private ends. And thus, "As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so had he fallen," that is, by crime, and not by law. These words s re probably the refrain of the dirge, like those in 2Sa_1:19, 2Sa_1:25, 2Sa_1:27, and were followed by the celebration of Abner"s bravery, but they alone are recorded, because they contain the main point. Abner"s death was not, like the sentence upon Baanah and Rechab, an act of justice, but one of lawless revenge; and by this poem David proclaimed, not only his innocence, but also his abhorrence of the crime.

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

Not bound - Thou didst not tamely yield up thyself to Joab, to be bound hand and foot at his pleasure. Joab did not overcome thee in an equal combat, nor durst he attempt thee in that way, as a general or soldier of any worth would have done. Wicked men - By the hands of froward, or perverse, or crooked men, by hypocrisy and perfidiousness, whereby the vilest coward may kill the most valiant person.

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

Your hands were not bound. How could a mighty soldier such as you fall before treacherous men.

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.