2 Samuel 2:27

27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”

2 Samuel 2:27 in Other Translations

27 And Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.

27 And Joab said, "As God lives, if you had not spoken, surely the men would not have given up the pursuit of their brothers until the morning."

27 Then Joab said, “God only knows what would have happened if you hadn’t spoken, for we would have chased you all night if necessary.”

27 "As God lives," said Joab, "if you hadn't spoken up, we'd have kept up the chase until morning!"

27 "As God lives," Joab replied, "if you had not spoken up, the troops wouldn't have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning."

2 Samuel 2:27 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 2:27

And Joab said, as God liveth
Which was the form of an oath, swearing by the living God:

unless thou hadst spoken;
that is, these words in ( 2 Samuel 2:14 ) ; "let the young men arise and play", that he had not given the challenge to fight:

surely then in the morning the people had gone up everyone from
following his brother;
they would have gone away and never fought at all; they were not desirous of shedding their blood, and following after them to slay them: thus he lays the blame upon Abner, and makes him to be the cause and beginner of the war. Some render the particle by "if", and give the sense, that if he had spoken what he last did sooner, the people would long before this time have desisted from pursuing them; for it was not from a thirst after their blood, and a desire to luke vengeance on them, that they pursued them, but to bring them to submission, and lay down their arms; for they could not in honour retreat until they desired it; but the former sense seems best, and is the general sense of the Jewish commentators.

2 Samuel 2:27 In-Context

25 Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill.

26 Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?”

27 Joab answered, “As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.”

28 So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the troops came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.

29 All that night Abner and his men marched through the Arabah. They crossed the Jordan, continued through the morning hours and came to Mahanaim.