The Meaning of 2 Samuel 23:6 Explained

2 Samuel 23:6

KJV: But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:

YLT: As to the worthless -- As a thorn driven away are all of them, For -- not by hand are they taken;

Darby: But the sons of Belial are all of them as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands;

ASV: But the ungodly shall be all of them as thorns to be thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with the hand;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But [the sons] of Belial  [shall be] all of them as thorns  thrust away,  because they cannot be taken  with hands: 

What does 2 Samuel 23:6 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 23:1-7 - David's Last Song
Let us place our lips at God's disposal, that He may speak by them, and let His words be on our tongues. God's love is to our souls like morning light. It stole over our hearts in childhood so gently that we did not know when first it came. The happy experiences of those pure and holy years were like the grass-blades that glisten across the lawns soaked in dew. "Thou hast the dew of thy youth."
When our heart is breaking with domestic or public anxiety, what a comfort it is to look away to the Covenant, ordered in all things and sure. Sometimes, indeed, God's purpose in our lives seems to come to a standstill. "He maketh it not to grow," 2 Samuel 23:5. But beneath the scaffolding the building is rising, and under the ground the harvest seeds are swelling.
These verses indicate David's ideal for himself which he had not fully attained. The harp became jangled, and the strain lost its music. There is only one King who can realize all that we ask or think-our fair dream. That King is our Lord Jesus. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 23

1  David, in his last words, professes his faith in God's promises
6  The different state of the wicked
8  A catalogue of David's mighty men

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 23:6 mean?

But [the sons] of rebellion [shall be] as thorns thrust away all because cannot with hands they be taken
וּבְלִיַּ֕עַל כְּק֥וֹץ מֻנָ֖ד כֻּלָּ֑הַם כִּֽי־ לֹ֥א בְיָ֖ד יִקָּֽחוּ

וּבְלִיַּ֕עַל  But  [the  sons]  of  rebellion  [shall  be] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּלִיַּעַל  
Sense: worthlessness.
כְּק֥וֹץ  as  thorns 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹוץ 
Sense: thorn, thornbush.
מֻנָ֖ד  thrust  away 
Parse: Verb, Hofal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָדַד  
Sense: to retreat, flee, depart, move, wander abroad, stray, flutter.
כִּֽי־  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
לֹ֥א  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
בְיָ֖ד  with  hands 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
יִקָּֽחוּ  they  be  taken 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: יָקַח 
Sense: to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away.