And the king said unto his servants, Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?
The words were spoken privately to servants and trusted attendants and counselors close to the king, after he had mourned Abner openly with fasting and sackcloth and a lament or elegy. In that private setting he described the fallen Abner as a prince and a great man, giving him high honor although Abner had been his bitter enemy. That generous tribute showed he had taken no part in the murder, and by it he won the confidence of Israel.
At the same time he acknowledged that he was weak even though anointed king, because Joab and Abishai, the sons of Zeruiah, were too powerful for him and the kingdom was still unsettled. For that reason he could not punish them as he desired for the killing. He therefore left them to the justice of God, trusting that God would repay the evildoer for his wickedness.
The words were spoken privately to servants and trusted attendants and counselors close to the king, after he had mourned Abner openly with fasting and sackcloth and a lament or elegy. In that private setting he described the fallen Abner as a prince and a great man, giving him high honor although Abner had been his bitter enemy. That generous tribute showed he had taken no part in the murder, and by it he won the confidence of Israel.
At the same time he acknowledged that he was weak even though anointed king, because Joab and Abishai, the sons of Zeruiah, were too powerful for him and the kingdom was still unsettled. For that reason he could not punish them as he desired for the killing. He therefore left them to the justice of God, trusting that God would repay the evildoer for his wickedness.