2 Samuel 3:33–38

33 The king sang this lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died as the lawless die?

34 Your hands were not bound,

your feet were not fettered.

You fell as one falls before the wicked.”

And all the people wept over him again.

35 Then they all came and urged David to eat something while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

36 All the people took note and were pleased; indeed, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all the people there and all Israel knew that the king had no part in the murder of Abner son of Ner.

38 Then the king said to his men, “Do you not realize that a commander and a great man has fallen in Israel this day?

33 And the king lamented over Abner, and said,

Died Abner as a fool dieth?

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. 35 And when all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down. 36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them: as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. 37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

33 Then the king sang this funeral song for Abner:

“Should Abner have died as fools die?

34 Your hands were not bound;

your feet were not chained.

No, you were murdered—

the victim of a wicked plot.”

All the people wept again for Abner. 35 David had refused to eat anything on the day of the funeral, and now everyone begged him to eat. But David had made a vow, saying, “May God strike me and even kill me if I eat anything before sundown.”

36 This pleased the people very much. In fact, everything the king did pleased them! 37 So everyone in Judah and all Israel understood that David was not responsible for Abner’s murder.

38 Then King David said to his officials, “Don’t you realize that a great commander has fallen today in Israel?

33 And the king sang a lament over Abner and said:

“Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 Your hands were not bound

Nor your feet put into fetters;

As a man falls before wicked men, so you fell.”

Then all the people wept over him again.

35 And when all the people came to persuade David to eat food while it was still day, David took an oath, saying, “God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else till the sun goes down!” 36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, since whatever the king did pleased all the people. 37 For all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the king’s intent to kill Abner the son of Ner. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

33 King David sang this funeral song for Abner.

“Did Abner die like a fool?

34 His hands were not tied.

His feet were not in chains.

He fell at the hands of evil men.”

Then all the people cried again for Abner. 35 They came to encourage David to eat while it was still day. But he made a promise, saying, “May God punish me terribly if I eat bread or anything else before the sun sets!”

36 All the people saw what happened, and they agreed with what the king was doing, just as they agreed with everything he did. 37 That day all the people of Judah and Israel understood that David did not order the killing of Abner son of Ner.

38 David said to his officers, “You know that a great man died today in Israel.

33 And the king lamented for Abner, and said,

Should Abner die as a fool dieth?

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

As a man falleth before the children of iniquity, so didst thou fall.

And all the people wept again over him. 35 And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David sware, saying, God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down. 36 And all the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; as whatsoever the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to slay Abner the son of Ner. 38 And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

33 And the king lamented over Abner, and said, Should Abner die as a fool dieth? 34 Thy hands were not bound, Nor thy feet put into fetters; As a man falleth before wicked men, Fellest thou! And all the people wept again over him. 35 And all the people came to cause David to eat bread while it was yet day; but David swore, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread or aught else till the sun be down! 36 And all the people remarked it, and it pleased them; as whatever the king did pleased all the people. 37 And all the people and all Israel understood that day that it was not of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death. 38 And the king said to his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?

33 The king sang a funeral song for Abner: 

Should Abner die like a godless fool? 

34 Your hands were not tied. 

Your feet were not chained. 

You fell as one falls in front of wicked men. 

And all the people continued to cry for him. 

35 That entire day all the people tried to get David to eat some food. But David had taken an oath: “May God strike me dead if I taste any food or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 Then all the people understood and approved of this, as all the people approved of everything the king did. 37 That day all the people of Israel knew the king wasn’t responsible for killing Ner’s son Abner. 38 The king said to his officers, “Don’t you know that today a leader, a great man, has fallen in Israel?

33 and the king sang a lament for Abner:

Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 Your hands were not bound,

your feet not placed in bronze shackles.

You fell like one who falls victim to criminals.

And all the people wept over him even more.

35 Then they came to urge David to eat bread while it was still day, but David took an oath: “May God punish me and do so severely if I taste bread or anything else before sunset!” 36 All the people took note of this, and it pleased them. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. 37 On that day all the troops and all Israel were convinced that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.

38 Then the king said to his soldiers, “You must know that a great leader has fallen in Israel today.

33 The king lamented for Abner, saying,

“Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 Your hands were not bound;

your feet were not fettered;

as one falls before the wicked

you have fallen.”

And all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day, but David swore, saying, “So may God do to me and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!” 36 All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them, just as everything the king did pleased all the people. 37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner. 38 And the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?

33 The king sang a lament for Abner and said, “Should Abner have died the death of a fool? 34 Your hands were not tied and your feet were not in contact with bronze fetters. You have fallen as one who falls before sons of wickedness.” Then all the people wept over him again. 35 Then all the people came to give David food. Still on that day, David swore, “May God punish me if I taste food or anything before the sun goes down.” 36 All the people noticed, and it was good in their eyes, as everything that the king did was good in the eyes of all the people. 37 Then all the people and all of Israel realized on that day that the king had not desired to kill Abner the son of Ner. 38 Then the king said to his servants, “Did you not realize that a prince and a great man has fallen today in Israel?

33 King David sang a song of sadness over Abner. He said,

“Should Abner have died as sinful people do?

34 His hands were not tied.

His feet were not chained.

He died as if he had been killed by evil people.”

All of the people sobbed over Abner again.

35 Then all of them came and begged David to eat something. They wanted him to eat while it was still day. But David took an oath. He said, “I won’t taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down. If I do, may God punish me greatly!”

36 All of the people heard it and were pleased. In fact, everything the king did pleased them. 37 So on that day all of the people of Judah and Israel understood. They knew that the king didn’t have anything to do with the murder of Abner, the son of Ner.

38 The king spoke to his men. He said, “Don’t you realize that a great commander has died in Israel today?

33 The king chanted a lament for Abner and said,

“Should Abner die as a fool dies?

34 “Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters;

As one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.”

And all the people wept again over him.

35 Then all the people came to persuade David to eat bread while it was still day; but David vowed, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down.”

36 Now all the people took note of it, and it pleased them, just as everything the king did pleased all the people.

37 So all the people and all Israel understood that day that it had not been the will of the king to put Abner the son of Ner to death.

38 Then the king said to his servants, “Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?