¹⁸Joab sent David a full account of the battle. ¹⁹He instructed the messenger: “When you have finished giving the king this account of the battle, ²⁰the king’s anger may flare up, and he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you know they would shoot arrows from the wall? ²¹Who killed Abimelek^d son of Jerub-Besheth^b? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the wall,^e so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If he asks you this, then say to him, ‘Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.’ ”

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Footnotes

bAlso known as Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon)

Cross references

dSee Jdg 8:31
e Jdg 9:50–54

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Joab sent someone to report to David all the details of the battle. He commanded the messenger, “When you’ve finished telling the king all the details of the battle—if the king’s anger gets stirred up and he asks you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the top of the wall? At Thebez, who struck Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Didn’t a woman drop an upper millstone on him from the top of the wall so that he died? Why did you get so close to the wall?’—then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hethite is dead also.’ ”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’ ”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Joab sent and told David all of the news of the battle. He instructed the messenger, saying, “As you are finishing to speak all the news of the battle to the king, if the anger of the king rises and he says to you, ‘Why did you go near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from atop the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerub-bosheth, if not a woman who threw an upper millstone on him from atop the wall and he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ Then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite also died.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war; And charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king, And if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.

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