2 Samuel 12:30

Verse

Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

American Standard Version (1901)

And he took the crown of their king from off his head; and the weight thereof was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city, exceeding much.

Bible in Basic English

And he took the crown of Milcom from his head; the weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it were stones of great price; and it was put on David's head. And he took a great store of goods from the town.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And he took the crown of their king from his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold, set with most precious stones, and it was put upon David’s head, and the spoils of the city which were very great he carried away.

Free Bible Version

He took the crown from the head of their king, and it was placed on David's head. It weighed a talent of gold and was decorated with precious stones. David took a large amount of plunder from the town.

Geneva Bible 1599

And he tooke their Kings crowne from his head, (which weighed a talent of golde, with precious stones) and it was set on Dauids head: and he brought away the spoyle of the citie in exceeding great abundance.

King James (Authorized) Version

And he took their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David’s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

Translation for Translators

Then David took the crown from the head of the king of Rabbah (OR, from the head of Milcom the god of Rabbah) and put it on his own head. It was very heavy; it weighed ◄75 pounds/34 kg.►, and it had many very valuable stones fastened to it. His soldiers also took many other valuable things from the city.

Unlocked Literal Bible

David took the crown from their king's head—it weighed a talent of gold, and there was a precious stone in it. The crown was placed on David's own head. Then he brought out the plunder of the city in large quantities.

Noah Webster Bible

And he took their king's crown from off his head, the weight of which was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David's head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.

World English Bible

He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David’s head. He brought a great quantity of plunder out of the city.

Young's Literal Translation

and he taketh the crown of their king from off his head, and its weight [is] a talent of gold, and precious stones, and it is on the head of David; and the spoil of the city he hath brought out, very much;

Context

The Capture of Rabbah

²⁹So David assembled all the troops and went to Rabbah; and he fought against it and captured it. ³⁰Then he took the crown from the head of their king. It weighed a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed on David’s head. And David took a great amount of plunder from the city.

Summary

This verse describes King David's conquest of the Ammonite city of Rabbah, where he took the crown of their king and placed it on his own head. The act of taking the crown symbolized David's victory and authority over the Ammonites. It signifies the fulfillment of God's promise to David to establish his kingdom and bring him success in battle. The capture of Rabbah was a significant military achievement that showcased David's strength as a warrior and leader.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

The weight whereof was a talent of gold - If this talent was only seven pounds, as Whiston says, David might have carried it on his head with little difficulty; but this weight, according to common computation, would amount to more than one hundred pounds! If, however, משקלה mishkalah be taken for the value, not the weight then all is plain as the worth of the crown will be about 5075 15s. 7d. sterling. Now this seems to be the true sense, because of the added words with the precious stones; i.e., the gold of the crown, and the jewels with which it was adorned, were equal in value to a talent of gold.

John Gill Bible Commentary

And he brought forth the people that were therein,.... Not all the inhabitants of the place, but the princes of the children of Ammon, the counsellors of Hattun, who advised him to use David's ambassadors in so shameful a manner, and others that expressed their pleasure and satisfaction in it: and put them under saws, and under harrows of iron, and under axes of iron; whereby they were cut asunder, as some were by the Romans and others (n), or their flesh torn to pieces, and they put to extreme pain and agony, and so died most miserably; see Ch1 20:3, and made them pass through the brickkiln; where they burnt their bricks, by which they were not only scorched and blistered, but burnt to death; so the word in the "Keri", or margin, signifies, which we follow; but in the text it is, they caused them to pass through Malcem, the same with Milcom or Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon, Kg1 11:5; unto which they made their children pass through the fire, and burnt them; and now in the same place they themselves are made to pass through, and be burnt, as a righteous punishment of them for their barbarous and wicked idolatry. The word used in the Greek version, according to Suidas (o), signifies an army, or a battalion of men drawn up in a quadrangular form, like a brick; and in the same sense Josephus (p) uses it; hence a learned man (q) conjectures that David's army was drawn up in the like form, through which the Ammonites were obliged to pass, and as they passed were assailed with darts, and killed; a like punishment to which is what the Italians call "passing through the pikes": and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon; to the inhabitants of them; that is, the chief, who bad expressed their joy at the ill usage of his ambassadors: this he did to strike terror into other nations, that they might fear to use his ambassadors in such like manner. This action of David's showing so much severity, is thought by most to be done when under the power of his lust with Bathsheba, in an hardened and impenitent state, when he had no sense of mercy himself, and so showed none; which is too injurious to his character; for this was a righteous retaliation of this cruel people, Sa1 11:2. Which may be observed in other instances, Jdg 8:6; but the charge of cruelty in David will be easily removed by following the translation of a learned (r) man, and which I think the words will bear, "and he obliged the people that were in it to go out, and put them to the saw", to cut stones; "and to the iron mines", to dig there; "and to the axes of iron", to cut wood, with; "after he had made them to pass with their king" out of the city. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem; in triumph, and with great spoil. (n) Suetonius in Vita Caii, c. 27. Vid. Herodot. l. 2. c. 139. (o) In voce (p) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 4. sect. 4. (q) Menochius de Repub. Heb. l. 8. c. 3. col 752. (r) Danzii Commentat. de miligat. David in Ammon. crudel. Jenae 1710, apud Michael. in 1 Chron. xx. 3. Vid. Stockium, p. 392. Next: 2 Samuel Chapter 13