Lyrics · 2 Samuel
The Sword Shall Never Depart
2 Samuel 10:1-11:27
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About this song
This song belongs to the 2 Samuel collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.
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Named in this songDavidJoabJerusalemBathsheba
About the passage
2 Samuel 10: Kindness misread, then war enlarged
David sends servants to comfort Hanun after the death of his father, intending to answer former kindness with kindness. Ammon's princes supply another interpretation, accusing the delegation of espionage, and Hanun humiliates the envoys by shaving part of their beards and cutting their garments. David first protects the men's dignity by letting them remain at Jericho. Then Ammon, recognizing that it has made itself odious, hires Syrian forces and turns a diplomatic insult into a military coalition. Joab finds enemies before and behind, divides the army with Abishai, and arranges mutual support rather than pretending to know which front will prove harder. The first coalition flees, then gathers again with reinforcements from beyond the river. David crosses Jordan for the renewed battle, and the resulting defeat forces Hadarezer's dependent kings into peace with Israel. The final strategic effect is isolation: Syria will no longer help Ammon. Rabbah itself remains, carrying the conflict directly into the next chapter.
Study 2 Samuel 10 in depth2 Samuel 11: The king who sends, and the man who will not go home
The Ammonite campaign continues, but David stays in Jerusalem while Joab and the army besiege Rabbah. From the palace roof he sees Bathsheba, learns that she is Uriah's wife, sends for her, and sleeps with her. Her message, "I am with child," turns a private act into a problem the king cannot dismiss. David recalls Uriah and tries first to manage appearances. Uriah refuses to go home while the ark, Israel, Judah, Joab, and the soldiers remain in the field. Even drunkenness does not move him there. David then changes methods. He writes an order exposing Uriah to deadly combat and sends the letter by Uriah's own hand. Joab's implementation kills Uriah and other servants as well. David receives the casualty report with language about the sword devouring one as well as another, though his letter has already shown the death was selected. Bathsheba mourns, David marries her, and the chapter's final sentence places the whole arrangement under the LORD's displeasure.
Study 2 Samuel 11 in depth


