2 Samuel 3:24

Good News Translation

So Joab went to the king and said to him, "What have you done? Abner came to you—why did you let him go like that?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Look here, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he’s getting away.

Hebrew Names Version
Then Yo'av came to the king, and said, What have you done? behold, Aviner came to you; why is it that you have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

King James Version
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

Lexham English Bible
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came here to you? Why have you dismissed him that he actually went away?

English Standard Version
Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you. Why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone?

New Century Version
Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you. Why did you let him go? Now he's gone.

New English Translation
So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he's gone on his way!

Amplified Bible
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why did you send him away, so that he is already gone?

New American Standard Bible
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you let him go, so that he is already gone?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioab came to the King, and saide, What hast thou done? beholde, Abner came vnto thee, why hast thou sent him away, and he is departed?

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you sent him away and he is already gone?

Contemporary English Version
Joab went to David and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you, and you let him go. Now he's long gone!

Complete Jewish Bible
Yo'av went to the king and said, "What have you done? Here, Avner came to you, and you sent him away, and now he's gone! Why?

Darby Translation
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came to thee; why is it [that] thou hast sent him away, and he is gone?

Easy-to-Read Version
Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you, but you sent him away without hurting him! Why?

George Lamsa Translation
Then Joab came to King David, and said to him, What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why have you sent him away, and he is gone from you?

Literal Translation
And Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? Behold, Abner has come to you; why is this, that you have sent him away, and going he is gone?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then wente Ioab in to the kynge, and sayde: What hast thou done? Beholde, Abner came to the, why hast thou sent him from the, that he is gone his waye?

American Standard Version
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

Bible in Basic English
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? when Abner came to you why did you send him away and let him go?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then Ioab came to the king, and said: What hast thou done? Behold, Abner came vnto thee, and why hast thou sent him away, and he is quyte gone?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then Joab came to the king, and said: 'What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

King James Version (1611)
Then Ioab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came vnto thee, why is it that thou hast sent him away, & he is quite gone?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joab went in to the king, and said, What is this that thou hast done? behold, Abenner came to thee; and why hast thou let him go, and he has departed in peace?

English Revised Version
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came unto thee; why is it that thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

Berean Standard Bible
So Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you. Why did you dismiss him? Now he is getting away!

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Joab entride to the kyng, and seide, What hast thou do? Lo! Abner cam to thee; whi leftist thou hym, and he yede, and departide?

Young's Literal Translation
And Joab cometh unto the king, and saith, `What hast thou done? lo, Abner hath come unto thee! why [is] this -- thou hast sent him away, and he is really gone?

Update Bible Version
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? look, Abner came to you; why is it that you have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

Webster's Bible Translation
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What hast thou done? behold, Abner came to thee; why [is] it [that] thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone?

World English Bible
Then Joab came to the king, and said, What have you done? behold, Abner came to you; why is it that you have sent him away, and he is quite gone?

New King James Version
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Look, Abner came to you; why is it that you sent him away, and he has already gone?

New Living Translation
Joab rushed to the king and demanded, "What have you done? What do you mean by letting Abner get away?

New Life Bible
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? See, Abner came to you. Why then have you sent him away, so that he is gone?

New Revised Standard
Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then Joab came in unto the king, and said - What hast thou done? Lo! Abner came in unto thee. Wherefore is it that thou didst let him go, so that he is clean departed?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Joab went in to the king, and said: What hast thou done? Behold Abner came to thee: Why didst thou send him away, and he is gone and departed?

Revised Standard Version
Then Jo'ab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why is it that you have sent him away, so that he is gone?

THE MESSAGE
Joab went straight to the king: "What's this you've done? Abner shows up, and you let him walk away scot-free? You know Abner son of Ner better than that. This was no friendly visit. He was here to spy on you, figure out your comings and goings, find out what you're up to."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Joab came to the king and said, "What have you done? Behold, Abner came to you; why then have you sent him away and he is already gone?

Contextual Overview

²² Later on Joab and David's other officials returned from a raid, bringing a large amount of loot with them. Abner, however, was no longer there at Hebron with David, because David had sent him away with a guarantee of safety. ²³ When Joab and his men arrived, he was told that Abner had come to King David and had been sent away with a guarantee of safety. ²⁴ So Joab went to the king and said to him, "What have you done? Abner came to you—why did you let him go like that? ²⁵ He came here to deceive you and to find out everything you do and everywhere you go. Surely you know that!" ²⁶ After leaving David, Joab sent messengers to get Abner, and they brought him back from Sirah Well; but David knew nothing about it. ²⁷ When Abner arrived in Hebron, Joab took him aside at the gate, as though he wanted to speak privately with him, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. And so Abner was murdered because he had killed Joab's brother Asahel. ²⁸ When David heard the news, he said, "The Lord knows that my subjects and I are completely innocent of the murder of Abner. ²⁹ May the punishment for it fall on Joab and all his family! In every generation may there be some man in his family who has gonorrhea or a dreaded skin disease or is fit only to do a woman's work or is killed in battle or doesn't have enough to eat!" ³⁰ So Joab and his brother Abishai took revenge on Abner for killing their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon. ³¹ Then David ordered Joab and his men to tear their clothes, wear sackcloth, and mourn for Abner. And at the funeral King David himself walked behind the coffin.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What hast: Joab and his brother Abishai, David's nephews, had been very faithful and highly useful to him in his distresses; and, from gratitude and natural affection, he had inadvertently permitted them to assume almost as much ascendancy over him as Abner had over the pusillanimous Ishbosheth: he trusted and feared them too much, and allowed them all the importance they claimed; which had emboldened them, especially Joab, to a high degree of presumption. 2 Samuel 3:8, 2 Samuel 3:39, 2 Samuel 19:5-7, Numbers 23:11, John 18:35

Reciprocal: Genesis 3:13 - What 1 Samuel 13:11 - What hast 2 Samuel 19:6 - thou regardest Proverbs 19:10 - much

Cross-References

Genesis 3:2
"We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden," the woman answered,

Genesis 3:8
That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees.

Genesis 3:9
But the Lord God called out to the man, "Where are you?"

Genesis 3:16
And he said to the woman, "I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him."

Genesis 3:17
And he said to the man, "You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you.

Genesis 3:18
It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants.

Genesis 3:22
Then the Lord God said, "Now these human beings have become like one of us and have knowledge of what is good and what is bad. They must not be allowed to take fruit from the tree that gives life, eat it, and live forever."

Exodus 25:2
"Tell the Israelites to make an offering to me. Receive whatever offerings anyone wishes to give.

Numbers 22:23
When the donkey saw the angel standing there holding a sword, it left the road and turned into the fields. Balaam beat the donkey and brought it back onto the road.

Joshua 5:13
While Joshua was near Jericho, he suddenly saw a man standing in front of him, holding a sword. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you one of our soldiers, or an enemy?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then Joab came to the king,.... To the apartment where he was; perhaps he was told the above at his first entering into the king's palace, by some in waiting, before he came to the king, which filled him with wrath, so that he came to him in a passion:

and said to him, what hast thou done? which was very insolent in a subject to say to his prince:

behold, Abner came unto thee; I have been credibly informed of it, and am assured it is a fact which cannot be denied; he represents it as if he had done a wrong thing to admit him to come to him; but perhaps the great fault was that he had let him go:

why [is] it [that] thou hast sent him away, and he is quite gone? or "going, [is] gone" e; is clean gone off, when he ought to have been laid hold on as a traitor, and put in irons.

e וילך הלוך "et abiit eundo", Pagninus, Montanus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Joab saw that if Abner was reconciled to David, his own post as second in the state would be forfeited; and then with characteristic unscrupulosity he proceeded to take Abner’s life.