2 Samuel 19:9-15
New English Translation
9 All the people throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies. He rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king,[a] has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?”[b]
11 Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace,[c] when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention.[d] 12 You are my brothers—my very own flesh and blood![e] Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back?’ 13 Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my flesh and blood?[f] God will punish me severely,[g] if from this time on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
14 He[h] won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man. Then they sent word to the king saying, “Return, you and all your servants as well.” 15 So the king returned and came to the Jordan River.[i]
Now the people of Judah[j] had come to Gilgal to meet the king and to help him[k] cross the Jordan.
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- 2 Samuel 19:10 tn Heb “over us.”
- 2 Samuel 19:10 tc The LXX includes the following words at the end of v. 11: “And what all Israel was saying came to the king’s attention.” The words are misplaced in the LXX from v. 12 (although the same statement appears there in the LXX as well).
- 2 Samuel 19:11 tn Heb “his house.”
- 2 Samuel 19:11 tc The Hebrew text adds “to his house” (= palace), but the phrase, which also appears earlier in the verse, is probably accidentally repeated here.
- 2 Samuel 19:12 tn Heb “my bone and my flesh.”
- 2 Samuel 19:13 tn Heb “my bone and my flesh.”
- 2 Samuel 19:13 tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”
- 2 Samuel 19:14 tn The referent of “he” is not entirely clear: cf. NCV “David”; TEV “David’s words”; NRSV, NLT “Amasa.”
- 2 Samuel 19:15 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Samuel 19:15 tn The Hebrew text has simply “Judah.”
- 2 Samuel 19:15 tn Heb “the king.” The pronoun (“him”) has been used in the translation to avoid redundancy.
2 Samuel 19:9-15
New American Standard Bible
9 And all the people were quarreling throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “(A)The king rescued us from the [a]hands of our enemies and (B)saved us from the [b]hands of the Philistines, but now (C)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 (D)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; (E)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to (F)Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? (G)May God do so to me, and more so, if you will not be (H)commander of the army [c]for me continually, (I)in place of Joab.’” 14 So he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah (J)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 (K)Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to escort the king across the Jordan.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Samuel 19:9 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 19:9 Lit palm
- 2 Samuel 19:13 Lit before me
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