2 Samuel 4:8

2Sa 4:8 And they brought the head of Ishbosheth unto David to Hebron, and said to the king, Behold the head of Ishbosheth the son of Saul thine enemy, which sought thy life; and the LORD hath avenged my lord the king this day of Saul, and of his seed.

Ver. 8. Behold the head of Ishbosheth.] A plausible oration they make, but miss of their purpose. They commend their own act to David: (1.) A iucundo, from delight, Lo, here the head of thine enemy; and what more pleasant sight than this? (2.) Ab honesto, from honesty, We did it not without the Lord, who hath set us on work to avenge my lord the king, &c. (3.) Ab utili, from usefulness, For now thine enemy being removed, thou shalt reign alone without a rival. Thus these wretches rhetoricate, and all to insinuate; which yet would not be.

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.

4:8 your enemy Saul: As far as we know, David never referred to Saul as an enemy. • the Lord has given . . . revenge: Wrongdoers often presume upon God’s favor to justify political ambition. However, David would not reward treachery.

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

They brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David . . . and said, Behold the head of Ish-bosheth--Such bloody trophies of rebels and conspirators have always been acceptable to princes in the East, and the carriers have been liberally rewarded. Ish-bosheth being a usurper, the two assassins thought they were doing a meritorious service to David by removing the only existing obstacle to the union of the two kingdoms.

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 8. They brought the head - unto David] They thought, as did the poor lying Amalekite, to ingratiate themselves with David by this abominable act.

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

(8) The Lord hath avenged.—It is not to be supposed that the murderers pretended a Divine commission for their wicked deed; they only meant to say that, in the providence of God, David was thus avenged on the seed of his cruel persecutor. Yet they state the fact in the way they thought best calculated to awaken the gratitude of David towards themselves.

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

8–12. The Punishment of the Murderers by David

8. to the king] Observe that Ish-bosheth is never honoured with the title of king.

thine enemy, which sought thy life] These words are to be referred to Saul not to Ish-bosheth. Cp. 1Sa_24:4; 1Sa_25:29.

the Lord hath avenged] The murderers profanely represented themselves as the instruments of Providence. “They pretended piety and loyalty, but they regarded nothing except their own interest.” Wordsworth.

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.

And David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite,.... In a manner they did not expect:

and said unto them, as the Lord liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity; spiritual and temporal, especially the latter is meant, and particularly what he had been brought into by the persecution of Saul, while living, and by those that adhered to his house since his death; which he ascribes to the Lord, and doubted not that he would still deliver him, and complete what he had designed for him, and that he needed not the assistance of such wicked hands as theirs; the words contain the form of an oath made to testify the truth of the following narrative, concerning the man that brought the tidings of Saul's death to him, or for the certainty of what he would do those persons for the murder of Ishbosheth.

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

Life. They wish to recall to David’s remembrance what Saul had done against him, that he may approve the more of what they had perpetrated. (Menochius) --- They supposed that, as Abner had been well received, they should obtain still greater favour. (Salien)

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).

Which sought thy life, i.e. to destroy it, or take it away; as this phrase is used, 1Sa 20:1; 23:15, and elsewhere. They thought their action not only blameless, but meritorious; because they had but executed justice upon Saul’s house, and David’s enemies, and made way for David’s obtaining of his rights. It may seem strange they were not discouraged by David’s punishing of the Amalekite for killing Saul, 2Sa 1, and by his sharp reproof of Joab for murdering Abner; but they thought the first case much differing from theirs, because Saul was anointed king by God; whereas Ish-bosheth was not, but was a mere usurper: and for the latter, they thought that David’s sharp words proceeded rather from art and policy, than from any real dislike of thee thing; which they judged, because David contented himself with words, and Joab did not only go unpunished, but continued in his former place and power.

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

8. The Lord hath avenged my lord the king — By these words the assassins thought to gain the favour of David; but, like the Amalekite at Ziklag, they little understood how his soul abhorred their bloody deed.

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

Which sought thy life. Saul had sought David"s life, but Ishbosheth was innocent of any such attempts. Still, had he been victorious, David, as his rival, would certainly have been put to death. Jehovah hath avenged my lord the king. The ordinary language of the East is so religious that these words imply nothing more than that these wicked men saw in their base act a step towards the carrying out of a Divine purpose. But in thus referring to the common belief that David"s kingdom was assured to him by Jehovah, they evidently intended to commend their deed to the really devout mind of the king.

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

sought your life

This idiom means "was trying to kill you." (See: Idiom)

As Yahweh lives

This is one of the strongest oaths David could swear, as Yahweh is the witness. AT: "I swear on the life of Yahweh" (See: Idiom)

who delivered my life

Here "life" refers to David himself. This means that Yahweh has kept David alive. AT: "who rescued me" (See: Synecdoche)

translationWords

David

king

avenge

lord

descend

Yahweh

reward

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