Bible Strands
2 Samuel 3:33
And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — David speaks publicly at Abner’s tomb in Hebron immediately after the burial and before the crowd finishes weeping. He addresses the assembled people by declaring his formal lament over the commander’s death.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַ/יְקֹנֵ֥ן (va/y.ko.Nen) means “he lamented,” and the phrase הַ/כְּ/מ֥וֹת נָבָ֖ל (ha./ke./Mot na.Val) translates literally as “like the death of a fool.”
The thread — This public mourning follows the pattern of David’s earlier lament for Saul and Jonathan recorded in 2 Samuel 1:17 and echoes the prophetic mourning over Josiah noted in 2 Chronicles 35:25.
Why it lands — The text asks the reader to recognize that a military leader’s death is being framed as unjust rather than honorable, demanding an assessment of who bears responsibility for the violence.
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 the king lamented over Abner, and said, Died Abner as a fool dieth?
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 1:17 Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan,
- 2 Samuel 13:12 “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not violate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
- 2 Chronicles 35:25 Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.
- Luke 12:19 Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’
- Proverbs 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
- Ecclesiastes 2:15 So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.
- Jeremiah 17:11 Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay is the man who makes a fortune unjustly. In the middle of his days his riches will desert him, and in the end he will be the fool.”
- 2 Samuel 13:28 Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant!”