Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee
It is not worth while to talk with thee any longer, nor must I lose time, and neglect my opportunity; I do not desire you to go and smite him, I will go and do it myself:
and he took three darts in his hand;
or three rods, which were either all iron, or however the tops of them were iron spikes:
and thrust them through the heart of Absalom;
or through the midst of his body; for if he had thrust through his heart, properly speaking, he must have died instantly, whereas he seems to have lived after this:
while he [was] yet alive;
Joab found him alive when he came to him, and so he was when he thrust his darts through him; and so he was afterward; for the words may be rendered, "being yet alive", even after the darts were fixed in him, and even so deeply as to pierce through his body:
in the midst,
or "heart",
of the oak;
into which the darts penetrated.