Bible Strands
2 Samuel 2:21
So Abner told him, “Turn to your right or to your left, seize one of the young men, and take his equipment for yourself.” But Asahel would not stop chasing him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Abner speaks to Asahel during their pursuit, offering him a chance to disengage and seize a weaker combatant instead.
The words — נְטֵה (ne.Teh) means "turn aside," paired with עַל־יְמִינְךָ or עַל־שְׂמֹאֲלֶךָ ("to your right or left"), directing Asahel to shift his course toward an alternative target.
The thread — The pattern of abandoning pursuit for plunder or divine intervention appears in Judges 14:19, where the Spirit empowers a warrior to kill thirty men and seize their spoils.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of how unchecked ambition overrides tactical discretion and relational consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following of him.
Cross-references
- Judges 14:19 Then the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave their clothes to those who had solved the riddle. And burning with anger, Samson returned to his father’s house,