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2 Samuel 19
New American Standard Bible

Joab Disapproves of David’s Mourning

19 [a]Then it was reported to Joab, “Behold, (A)the king is weeping and he mourns for Absalom.” 2 So the [b]victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, because the people heard it said that day, “The king is in mourning over his son.” 3 And the people entered the city surreptitiously that day, just as people who are humiliated surreptitiously flee in battle. 4 And the king (B)covered his face and [c]cried out with a loud voice, “(C)My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed [d]all your servants, who have saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have revealed today that [e]commanders and servants are nothing to you; for I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then it would be right [f]as far as you are concerned. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak [g]kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, (D)no man will stay the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the misfortune that has [h]happened to you from your youth until now!”

David Restored as King

8 So the king got up and sat at the gate. When they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is (E)sitting at the gate,” then all the people came before the king.

Now (F)Israel had fled, each to his tent. 9 And all the people were quarreling throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “(G)The king rescued us from the [i]hands of our enemies and (H)saved us from the [j]hands of the Philistines, but now (I)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?”

11 Then King David sent word to (J)Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? 12 You are my brothers; (K)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to (L)Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? (M)May God do so to me, and more so, if you will not be (N)commander of the army [k]for me continually, (O)in place of Joab.’” 14 So he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah (P)as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” 15 The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And the men of Judah came to (Q)Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.

16 Then (R)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and (S)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. 18 Then they crossed the shallow places repeatedly to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan. 19 And he said to the king, “(T)May my lord not consider me guilty, nor call to mind what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, so that the king would [l]take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; so behold, I have come today, (U)the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded, “(V)Should Shimei not be put to death for this, (W)the fact that he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” 22 David then said, “(X)What [m]is there between you and me, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? (Y)Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” 23 So the king said to Shimei, “(Z)You shall not die.” The king also swore to him.

24 Then (AA)Mephibosheth the [n]grandson of Saul came down to meet the king; but (AB)he had neither [o]tended to his feet, nor [p]trimmed his mustache, nor (AC)washed his clothes since the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 And it was when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “(AD)Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 So he said, “My lord the king, my servant betrayed me; for your servant said, ‘I will [q]saddle the donkey for myself so that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ (AE)since your servant cannot walk. 27 Furthermore, (AF)he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is (AG)like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. 28 For (AH)all my father’s household was only people worthy of death to my lord the king; (AI)yet you placed your servant among those who ate at your own table. So what right do I still have, that I should [r]complain anymore to the king?” 29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have [s]decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come safely to his own house.”

31 Now (AJ)Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he went on to the Jordan with the king to [t]escort him over the Jordan. 32 Barzillai was very old: eighty years old; and he had (AK)provided the king food while he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. 33 So the king said to Barzillai, “You cross over with me, and I will provide you food in Jerusalem with me.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “(AL)How long [u]do I still have to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am [v]now (AM)eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I still hear (AN)the voice of men and women singing? (AO)Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. So why should the king compensate me with this reward? 37 Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant (AP)Chimham; let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” 38 And the king answered, “Chimham shall cross over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you [w]require of me, I will do for you.” 39 All the people crossed over the Jordan and the king crossed too. The king then (AQ)kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.

40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also (AR)half the people of Israel [x]accompanied the king. 41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “(AS)Why have our brothers, (AT)the men of Judah, abducted you and brought the king and his household and all David’s men with him, over the Jordan?” 42 Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because (AU)the king is a close relative to [y]us. Why then are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all [z]at the king’s expense, or has anything been taken for us?” 43 But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “[aa](AV)We have ten parts in the king, therefore [ab]we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat [ac]us with contempt? Was it not [ad]our [ae]advice first to bring back [af]our king?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 19:1 Ch 19:2 in Heb
  2. 2 Samuel 19:2 Lit salvation
  3. 2 Samuel 19:4 Lit the king cried
  4. 2 Samuel 19:5 Lit the faces of all
  5. 2 Samuel 19:6 Or princes
  6. 2 Samuel 19:6 Lit in your eyes
  7. 2 Samuel 19:7 Lit to the heart of your
  8. 2 Samuel 19:7 Lit come upon
  9. 2 Samuel 19:9 Lit palm
  10. 2 Samuel 19:9 Lit palm
  11. 2 Samuel 19:13 Lit before me
  12. 2 Samuel 19:19 Lit set
  13. 2 Samuel 19:22 Lit to me and to you; an ancient idiom
  14. 2 Samuel 19:24 Lit son
  15. 2 Samuel 19:24 Lit done
  16. 2 Samuel 19:24 Lit done
  17. 2 Samuel 19:26 I.e., have the donkey saddled
  18. 2 Samuel 19:28 Lit cry out
  19. 2 Samuel 19:29 Lit said
  20. 2 Samuel 19:31 Lit send
  21. 2 Samuel 19:34 Lit are the days of the years of my life
  22. 2 Samuel 19:35 Lit today
  23. 2 Samuel 19:38 Lit choose
  24. 2 Samuel 19:40 Lit crossed over with
  25. 2 Samuel 19:42 Lit me
  26. 2 Samuel 19:42 Lit from the king
  27. 2 Samuel 19:43 Singular in Heb
  28. 2 Samuel 19:43 Singular in Heb
  29. 2 Samuel 19:43 Singular in Heb
  30. 2 Samuel 19:43 Singular in Heb
  31. 2 Samuel 19:43 Lit word
  32. 2 Samuel 19:43 Singular in Heb
Close CEB

2 Samuel 19
Common English Bible

19 [a] Joab was told that the king was crying and mourning Absalom. 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the troops because they heard that day that the king was grieving for his son. 3 So that day the troops crept back into the city like soldiers creep back ashamed after they’ve fled from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried out in a loud voice, “Oh, my son Absalom! Oh, Absalom, my son! My son!”

5 Joab came to the king inside and said, “Today you have humiliated all your servants who have saved your life today, not to mention the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your secondary wives, 6 by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you! Today you have announced that the commanders and their soldiers are nothing to you, because I know that if Absalom were alive today and the rest of us dead, that would be perfectly fine with you! 7 Now get up! Go out and encourage your followers! I swear to the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not one man will stick with you tonight—and that will be more trouble for you than all the trouble that you’ve faced from your youth until now.”

8 So the king went and sat down in the city gate. All the troops were told that the king was sitting in the gate, so they came before the king.

David returns to Jerusalem

Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled to their homes. 9 Everyone was arguing throughout Israel’s tribes, saying, “The king delivered us from our enemies’ power, and he rescued us from the Philistines’ power, but now he has fled from the land and from controlling his own kingdom.[b] 10 And Absalom, the one we anointed over us, is dead in battle. So why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”

11 When the things that all the Israelites were saying reached the king,[c] David sent a message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Say the following to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his palace?[d] 12 You are my relatives! You are my flesh and bones! Why should you be the last to bring the king back?’ 13 And tell Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and bones too? May God deal harshly with me and worse still if you don’t become commander of my army from now on instead of Joab!’”

14 So he won over the hearts of everyone in Judah as though they were one person, and they sent word to the king: “Come back—you and all your servants.” 15 So the king came back and arrived at the Jordan River. Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring him across the Jordan.

16 Gera’s son Shimei, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the people of Judah to meet King David. 17 A thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Ziba too, the servant of Saul’s house, along with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, rushed to the Jordan ahead of the king 18 to do the work of ferrying[e] over the king’s household and to do whatever pleased him.

Gera’s son Shimei fell down before the king when he crossed the Jordan. 19 He said to the king, “May my master not hold me guilty or remember your servant’s wrongdoing that day my master the king left Jerusalem. Please forget about it, Your Majesty,[f] 20 because your servant knows that I have sinned. But look, I am the first person from the entire family of Joseph to come down today and meet my master the king.”

21 Zeruiah’s son Abishai responded, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for that—for cursing the Lord’s anointed?”

22 But David said, “My problems aren’t yours, you sons of Zeruiah. Why are you becoming my enemy today? Should anyone in Israel be put to death today? Don’t I know that today I am again king over Israel?”

23 Then the king told Shimei, “You will not die.” And the king swore this to him.

24 Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, also came down to meet the king. He hadn’t taken care of his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until the day he returned safely. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Mephibosheth, why didn’t you go with me?”

26 “My master and king,” Mephibosheth answered, “my servant abandoned me! Because your servant is lame, I asked my servant, ‘Saddle a donkey for me[g] so I can ride and go to the king.’ 27 So Ziba has slandered your servant to my master and king, but my master and king is a messenger of God. So do whatever seems best to you. 28 Even though all the members of my grandfather’s family were nothing short of demonic[h] toward my master and king, you still put your servant with those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to beg for still more from the king?”

29 “You don’t need to talk any more about this,” the king said to him. “I order you and Ziba to divide the property.”

30 Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take all of it, since my master and king has come home safely.”

31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim. He accompanied the king to the Jordan River to send him off there. 32 Barzillai was very old, 80 years of age. He had supported the king during his stay at Mahanaim because Barzillai was a very wealthy man.

33 The king said to Barzillai, “Come over the Jordan with me. I will provide for you at my side in Jerusalem.”

34 But Barzillai said to the king, “How many years do I have left that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am now 80 years old. Do I know what is good or bad anymore? Can your servant taste what I eat or drink? Can I even hear the voices of men or women singers? Why should your servant be a burden to my master and king? 36 Your servant will cross a short way over the Jordan with the king, but why should the king give me such a reward? 37 Let your servant return so I may die in my own town near the grave of my parents. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my master and king, and treat him as you think best.”

38 The king said, “Okay. Chimham will cross over with me, and I will treat him as I[i] think best. And I will do for you anything you desire from me.”

39 So all the people crossed over the Jordan River, and the king stayed behind.[j] The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and then Barzillai went back to his home. 40 When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Chimham went with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king across.

41 Then everyone in Israel came and said to the king, “Why did our relatives the people of Judah steal you away, and bring the king and his household across the Jordan River, along with all of his soldiers?”

42 Then all the people of Judah answered the Israelites, “Because the king is our relative! Why are you angry at us about this? Have we taken any of the king’s food? Has he given us any gifts?”

43 But the Israelites answered the people of Judah, “We have ten shares in the monarchy! What’s more, we are the oldest offspring, not you![k] So why have you disrespected us? Weren’t we the first to talk about bringing back our king?”

But the words of the people of Judah were even harsher than the words of the Israelites.[l]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 19:1 19:2 in Heb
  2. 2 Samuel 19:9 LXX; MT from over Absalom
  3. 2 Samuel 19:11 LXX, OL; MT lacks When… the king, though a version of this clause appears in 19:12.
  4. 2 Samuel 19:11 MT adds The things that all the Israelites were saying reached the king in his home (or palace).
  5. 2 Samuel 19:18 LXX; MT while the crossing was under way, to ferry
  6. 2 Samuel 19:19 19:18-19 Heb uncertain
  7. 2 Samuel 19:26 LXX, Syr, Vulg; MT your servant said, I will saddle a donkey for myself
  8. 2 Samuel 19:28 Or were doomed to death by my master the king; MT men of death
  9. 2 Samuel 19:38 LXX; MT you
  10. 2 Samuel 19:39 LXX; MT crossed over
  11. 2 Samuel 19:43 LXX, OL; MT we have a greater claim on David than you do.
  12. 2 Samuel 19:43 19:39-43 Heb uncertain
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