2 Samuel 2:21

21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside, to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold of one of the young men, and take for thyself his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

2 Samuel 2:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:21

And Abner said unto him
Having a respect for him, and consulting his good, and however fearing his brother Joab should he slay him:

turn thee aside to thy right or to thy left;
he does not advise him to go back, which would have been to his disgrace, having engaged in the pursuit, but to turn to the right or left, as if pursuing some other person and not Abner:

and lay thee hold on one of the young men, and take thee his armour;
one of the common soldiers, or an attendant on Abner, a young man like himself, whom he might be able to cope with, and take him a prisoner and disarm him, when he was not a match for such an old experienced officer as he was; and this Abner seems to speak as a friend, consulting the young man's safety and his honour too.

But, Asahel would not turn aside from following him;
fired with the ambition of taking him, and not content with any prey short of him; and perhaps was the more animated by what he said, as supposing it arose from fear of him.

2 Samuel 2:21 In-Context

19 And Asahel pursued after Abner; and in going he turned not to the right hand nor to the left from behind Abner.

20 Then Abner looked behind him, and said, Art thou Asahel? And he said, I am.

21 And Abner said to him, Turn thee aside, to thy right hand or to thy left, and lay hold of one of the young men, and take for thyself his armour. But Asahel would not turn aside from following him.

22 And Abner said again to Asahel, Turn thee aside from following me: why should I smite thee to the ground? how then should I hold up my face to Joab thy brother?

23 But he refused to turn aside; therefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him in the belly, so that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place. And it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still.