2 Samuel 2:14

And Abner said to Joab,.... Perceiving he made no motion towards an engagement with him, his orders from David being only to act on the defensive, and avoid as much as possible the effusion of blood:…

Play - (Compare Jdg 16:25; 1Sa 18:7). Here, the word is applied to the serious game of war, to be played by twelve combatants on each side, with the two armies for spectators.

Let the young men - play before us - This was diabolical play, where each man thrust his sword into the body of the other, so that the twenty-four (twelve on each side) fell down dead together! But…

Here is, I. A rivalship between two kings - David, whom God made king, and Ishbosheth, whom Abner made king. One would have thought, when Saul was slain, and all his sons that had sense and spirit…

Let the young men now arise "Young men" here means "servants" or "soldiers." Cp. ch. 2Sa 4:12. Desirous to avoid the horrors of a civil war, which would weaken the whole nation in the face of its…