2 Samuel 17:8
6 And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou.
7 And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.
For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
9 Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
10 And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- He continued, “You know your father and his men. They are mighty men, and as fierce as a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Moreover, your father is a man of war who will not spend the night with the troops.
- KJV
- For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
- WEB
- Hushai said moreover, “You know your father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are fierce in their minds, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
- ASV
- Hushai said moreover, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
- DARBY
- And Hushai said, Thou knowest thy father and his men, that they are mighty men, and they are of exasperated spirit, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field; and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
- BLB
- And Hushai said, “You know your father and his men, that they [are] mighty men, and they are bitter of spirit, like a bereaved bear in the field. And your father [is] a man of war, and he will not spend the night with the people.
- ÅB
- Og Husai sa: Du kjenner din far og hans menn og vet at de er djerve stridsmenn og gramme i hu som en binne i skogen som de har røvet ungene fra; og din far er en krigsmann og holder seg ikke hos folkene om natten.
- OTB
- Husjai sa videre: "Du kjenner din far og hans menn, at de er mektige, og bitre i sjelen som en bjørn som er frarøvet sine unger på marken. Dessuten er din far en ekspert i krig; han vil ikke tilbringe natten med folket.
- B1930
- Og Husai sa: Du kjenner din far og hans menn og vet at de er djerve stridsmenn og gramme i hu som en binne i skogen som de har røvet ungene fra; og din far er en krigsmann og holder sig ikke hos folkene om natten.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Hosea 13:8
I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.
Read in context1 Samuel 16:18
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
Read in contextDaniel 7:5
And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
Read in contextHebrews 11:32–34
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
Read in contextProverbs 17:12
Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.
Read in context1 Samuel 23:23
See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
Read in context2 Samuel 23:8–9
These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.
Read in context2 Samuel 23:20–22
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow:
Read in context