2 Samuel 10:11

11 Then he said, "If Aram [is] stronger than I [am], you must become my deliverer; but if the {Ammonites} [are] too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.

2 Samuel 10:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 10:11

And he said, if the Syrians be too strong for me
Which he might perceive by Joab's forces giving way, or by some signal agreed on between them

then thou shall help me;
detach a part of his army to his support and assistance:

but if the children of Ammon be too strong for thee, then I will come
and help thee;
in the same manner.

2 Samuel 10:11 In-Context

9 When Joab saw that {the battle was to be fought on two fronts}, he chose from all [the] members of the elite troops of Israel and {lined them up for battle} to meet Aram.

10 The rest of the army he placed into the hand of his brother Abishai, who {arranged them in battle lines} to meet the {Ammonites}.

11 Then he said, "If Aram [is] stronger than I [am], you must become my deliverer; but if the {Ammonites} [are] too strong for you, then I will come to rescue you.

12 Be strong, and let us strengthen ourselves for the sake of the people and for the sake of the cities of our God. May Yahweh do [what is] good in his eyes.

13 Joab and all the people who [were] with him moved forward into the battle against Aram, and they fled from before him.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "sons/children of Ammon"