Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageJoab answered, "As God lives, if you had not spoken up, the men would not have stopped pursuing their brothers until morning."
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GAnd Yo'av said, "As Elohim lives, if you had not spoken, the men would not have broken off pursuit of their brothers until morning."
KJV
King James VersionAnd Joab said, As God liveth, unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone up every one from following his brother.
BSB
Berean Standard Bible“As surely as God lives,” Joab replied, “if you had not spoken up, the troops would have continued pursuing their brothers until morning.”
Footnotes
The oath *chai ha'Elohim* (חַי הָאֱלֹהִים — "as Elohim/God lives") invokes the living God as the ground and witness of binding speech. Joab's words carry a double edge: he credits Abner's appeal with ending the pursuit, yet the construction implies his men had both the will and the moral right to continue until dawn. The oath both honours the ceasefire and places the moral weight of the entire conflict — and its beginning — squarely on Abner's shoulders. FOG retains *Elohim* as the name appears in the Hebrew; FOG Message renders it "God" in keeping with its theological register.
