2 Samuel 3:34

34 Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.

2 Samuel 3:34 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 3:34

Thy hands [were] not bound, nor thy feet put into fetters,
&c.] As malefactors are when they are taken up for any crime, and especially when proved upon them, and condemned for it, and brought forth to be executed. This was not his case, and had he been aware of the design against him, as his hands and feet were at liberty, he might have defended himself; or if he found he had too many to deal with, might have made use of his feet and fled:

as a man falleth before wicked men, [so] fellest thou;
as a man being before bloodthirsty and deceitful men, falls before them, through treachery and deceit, privately and unawares, so fell Abner before Joab and Abishai; this David said in the presence of Joab, and before all the people, to declare the plain fact how it was, to express his detestation of it, and to show he had no hand in it; and Joab must be an hardened creature to stand at the grave of Abner, and hear all this, and not be affected with it:

and all the people wept again over him;
over Abner, being laid in his grave; they had wept before, but hearing this funeral oration delivered by the king in such moving language, and in such a mournful tone, it drew tears afresh from them.

2 Samuel 3:34 In-Context

32 And they put Abner's body to rest in Hebron; and the king and all the people were weeping loudly by the resting-place of Abner's body.
33 And the king made a song of grief for Abner and said, Was the death of Abner to be like the death of a foolish man?
34 Your hands were free, your feet were not chained: like the downfall of a man before evil men, so was your fall. And the weeping of the people over him went on again.
35 And the people came to make David take food, while it was still day, but David with an oath said, May God's punishment be on me if I take a taste of bread or any other thing till the sun has gone down!
36 And all the people took note of it and were pleased: like everything the king did, it was pleasing to the people.
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