And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.

And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of'silver, and a girdle.

And Joab said to the man that told him: If thou sawest him, why didst thou not stab him to the ground, and I would have given thee ten sicles of silver, and belt?

And Joab said to the man that told him, And behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten silver pieces and a girdle.

And Joab saith to the man who is declaring it to him, 'And lo, thou hast seen, and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth, and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?'

And Joab said to the man that told him, And, behold, you saw him, and why did you not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given you ten shekels of silver, and a girdle.

And Joab said to the man who had given him the news, If you saw this, why did you not put your sword through him, and I would have given you ten bits of silver and a band for your robe?

Joab said to the man who told him, 'Look, you saw it, and why did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have given you ten pieces of silver, and a belt.'

And Joab said to the man who had reported it to him, "If you saw him, why did you not stab him to the ground, and I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a belt?"

Ten shekels - (About 25 shillings.) The word "shekel" is understood, as in Genesis 20:16; Genesis 37:28. See the Exodus 38:24 note.
A girdle - Girdles were costly articles of Hebrew dress used to put money in Matthew 10:9, and given as presents 1-Samuel 18:4.

And a girdle - The military belt was the chief ornament of a soldier, and was highly prized in all ancient nations; it was also a rich present from one chieftain to another. Jonathan gave his to David, as the highest pledge of his esteem and perpetual friendship, 1-Samuel 18:4. And Ajax gave his to Hector, as a token of the highest respect. - Hom. Il. vii., ver. 305.

And Joab said unto the man that told him,.... That gave the above account of him:
and, behold, thou sawest him; in reality; or, "didst thou see him?" is it a fact?
and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground; kill him on the spot, that he might have dropped from the tree to the ground:
and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver; on the news of it, for doing it, which was near twenty four shillings of our money; Josephus says (i) fifty shekels; the Arabic version has it ten thousand talents of silver, too great a sum by far:
and a girdle? which was a mark of great honour, and a token of a commission under him, and of investing: him with a military office; see 1-Samuel 18:4; it used to be given as an honorary reward to soldiers that behaved well, as on the contrary it was reckoned a reproach to be ungirt, or the girdle to be taken away (k).
(i) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 7. c. 10. sect. 2.) (k) Vide Lydium de re militare, l. 3. c. 6.

Joab said unto the man that told him, . . . I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle--that is, would have raised him from the ranks to the status of a commissioned officer. Besides a sum of money, a girdle, curiously and richly wrought, was among the ancient Hebrews a mark of honor, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of military merit. This soldier, however, who may be taken as a fair sample of David's faithful subjects, had so great a respect for the king's wishes, that no prospect of reward would have tempted him to lay violent hands on Absalom. But Joab's stern sense of public duty, which satisfied him that there could be neither safety to the king, nor peace to the kingdom, nor security to him and other loyal subjects, so long as that turbulent prince lived, overcame his sensibilities, and looking upon the charge given to the generals as more befitting a parent than a prince, he ventured to disobey it.