Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Samuel 5:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David’s soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The water-shaft, the targeted labels, and the proverb are textually difficult; the verse does not justify hatred of disabled people.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 5:6–10
Read 2 Samuel 5:8 with 5:6–10. The wording “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the…” supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: David takes the Jebusite stronghold through a textually difficult assault notice, occupies Zion, and grows in power.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “David Captures Jerusalem,” 2 Samuel 5:8 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Samuel 5:1–5 establishes this prior movement: Israel's tribes name kinship, prior leadership, and the LORD's designation before making covenant and anointing David at Hebron. 2 Samuel 5:6–10 continues the narrative consequence; that demonstrated relationship, rather than sequence alone, explains its placement.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: David takes the Jebusite stronghold through a textually difficult assault notice, occupies Zion.
- Developing movement or outcome: grows in power.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the…”
In plain language: The water-shaft, the targeted labels, and the proverb are textually difficult; the verse does not justify hatred of disabled people.
2 Samuel 5:8 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence by recording “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the….” This line matters because the water-shaft, the targeted labels, and the proverb are textually difficult; the verse does not justify hatred of disabled people.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material textual, literary, historical, royal-power, violence, consent, trauma, covenant, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Samuel 5:8 does not permit the wording “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The difficult wording does not authorize hatred of disabled people, make disability an enemy trait, or permit readers to turn an ancient conquest proverb into present exclusion or violence.
What Remains True
Faithful leadership is measured by truth, restraint, justice, repair, and the treatment of people with less power rather than by title, victory, popularity, or narrative prominence. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: David takes the Jebusite stronghold through a textually difficult assault notice, occupies Zion, and grows in power. In 2 Samuel 5:8, the concrete line “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the….” Do not recruit disability language as an insult, spiritual diagnosis, or rationale for exclusion; explain the textual difficulty, protect disabled people's dignity, and keep military conquest distinct from modern treatment of neighbors. This response follows from the unit's own pattern—David takes the Jebusite stronghold through a textually difficult assault notice, occupies Zion, and grows in power.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Samuel 5:8's role in 5:6–10. Paraphrase “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the…”, name the ancient royal or household horizon, state one material uncertainty, keep one vulnerable or affected person visible, and identify one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Samuel 5:6–10 — David Captures JerusalemSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
Do not claim more certainty than this verse permits: The water-shaft, the targeted labels, and the proverb are textually difficult; the verse does not justify hatred of disabled people.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 5:6-10, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 5:6-10
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 550–552, translation and all translator notes attached to 5:6-10
Open source ↗