Bible Strands
2 Samuel 5:8
On that day he said, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must use the water shaft to reach the lame and blind who are despised by David.” That is why it is said, “The blind and the lame will never enter the palace.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David speaks to his troops on the day he seizes the Jebusite fortress of Zion. He issues a conditional challenge regarding the conquest of the stronghold.
The words — The Hebrew מַכֵּ֤ה (ma.Keh) literally means "[one who] strikes," and יְבֻסִי (ye.vu.Si) denotes a Jebusite. These terms anchor the military condition David places on the assault.
The thread — The pattern of a royal reward for a military strike recurs when Caleb promises his daughter to the conqueror of Kiriath-sepher (Joshua 15:16) and when David promises chief command to the first Jebusite striker (1 Chronicles 11:6). David’s own prior offer to reward Goliath’s killer (1 Samuel 17:25) establishes this recurring motif.
Why it lands — The text records David’s proclamation that only those who use the water shaft to reach the despised lame and blind will succeed. Readers must note the literal military condition before observing how the proverbial exclusion of the lame and blind functions as a proverbial rebuke to complacency.
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 David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:16 And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
- 1 Chronicles 11:6 Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.
- 1 Samuel 17:25 Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he will give him his daughter in marriage and exempt his father’s house from taxation in Israel.”