2 Samuel 18:3 - Plain English Version

³ But the soldiers said to him, “No way. You can’t come with us. You are the boss man, but we are just nothing. You are the one they want to kill. If we soldiers all run away, they will not chase us. If we all die, they will not care. They will say, ‘All right, leave them.’ But if you die, they will be really happy. So it’s good for you to stay here in this town. If the fighting gets hard for us, then you can send more soldiers to help us.”

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

³ But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city.

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

³ But the men said, You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us; if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth 10,000 such as we are. So now it is better that you be able to help us from the city.

American Standard Version (1901)

³ But the people said, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city.

Common English Bible

³ But the troops replied, “No! You must not march out! If we flee, they won’t care about us. Even if half of us die, they won’t care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is much better if you support us from the city.”

Catholic Public Domain Version

³ And the people responded: "You shall not go out. For if we flee, there will not be great concern in them for us. Or if one half part of us will fall, they will not care much. For you are considered as one for ten thousand. Therefore, it is better that you should be in the city to strengthen us."

2 Samuel 18:3 Cross References

2 Samuel 17:2

Right now he’s upset and tired. We will suddenly come and attack his mob, and they will get a shock. All his mob will run away. He’s the only one I will kill dead.

2 Samuel 21:17

But one of David’s boss soldiers came to save him from that big man. He attacked the big man and killed him dead. That brave man was Abishai, the son of David’s sister called Zeruiah. After that, David’s men made a promise to him. They said, “We will never let you come with us again to fight. They might kill you dead. You are like the lamp in God’s ceremony house. Nobody puts out its fire. You see, your life is like that. We don’t want anybody to kill you and finish up Israel’s lamp.” (We have not yet translated 21:18—24:25. It is about some of the other things that David did before he died. The last bit of this story is from another book called the 1st book of the Big Bosses. We call that book 1 Kings, and these verses are from 1 Kings 2:10-12.) David died when he was an old man. They buried him in the city called Jerusalem, in that part of the city they call the city of David. David was the big boss of Israel for 40 years. First he was the boss in the town called Hebron for 7 years, then he was the boss in Jerusalem for 33 years. Then David’s son Solomon became the big boss. He took over from his father and controlled the whole country.

1 Samuel 18:7

They sang like this as they went, “Saul killed dead a thousand enemy soldiers. David killed dead 10,000 of them.”