2 Samuelchapter 19

David Mourns the Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

A.Joab's blunt rebuke: you love your enemies and hate your friendsvv. 1-8

1 Then it was reported to Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.” 2 And that day’s victory was turned into mourning for all the people, because on that day they were told, “The king is grieving over his son.” 3 So they returned to the city quietly that day, as people steal away in humiliation after fleeing a battle. 4 But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab went into the house and said to the king, “Today you have disgraced all your servants who have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, of your wives, and of your concubines. 6 You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! For you have made it clear today that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would have pleased you! 7 Now therefore get up! Go out and speak comfort to your servants, for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the adversity that has befallen you from your youth until now!” 8 So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home.

B.Judah fetches the king back over Jordanvv. 9-15

9 And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom. 10 But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?” 11 Then King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace, since the talk of all Israel has reached the king at his quarters? 12 You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’ 13 And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’” 14 So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.” 15 So the king returned, and when he arrived at the Jordan, the men of Judah came to Gilgal to meet him and escort him across the Jordan.

C.Shimei begs, and lives another dayvv. 16-23

16 Then Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David, 17 along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king 18 and crossed at the ford to carry over the king’s household and to do what was good in his sight. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king 19 and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned, so here I am today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD’s anointed?” 22 And David replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you, that you should be my adversaries today? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? Am I not indeed aware that today I am king over Israel?” 23 So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore an oath to him.

D.Mephibosheth's unwashed feet and untrimmed beardvv. 24-30

24 Then Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went down to meet the king. He had not cared for his feet or trimmed his mustache or washed his clothes from the day the king had left until the day he returned safely. 25 And he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, who asked him, “Mephibosheth, why did you not go with me?” 26 “My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me, 27 and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes. 28 For all the house of my grandfather deserves death from my lord the king, yet you have set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right, then, do I have to keep appealing to the king?” 29 The king replied, “Why say any more? I hereby declare that you and Ziba are to divide the land.” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”

E.Barzillai at eighty sends Chimham in his placevv. 31-39

31 Now Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim to cross the Jordan with the king and send him on his way from there. 32 Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim. 33 The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will provide for you at my side in Jerusalem.” 34 But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king? 35 I am now eighty years old. Can I discern what is good and what is not? Can your servant taste what he eats or drinks? Can I still hear the voice of singing men and women? Why should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant could go with the king only a short distance past the Jordan; why should the king repay me with such a reward? 37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” 38 The king replied, “Chimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him what seems good in your sight, and I will do for you whatever you desire of me.” 39 So all the people crossed the Jordan, and then the king crossed over. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned home.

F.Ten parts in the king — the quarrel at Gilgalvv. 40-43

40 Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham crossed over with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king. 41 Soon all the men of Israel came to the king and asked, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, take you away secretly and bring the king and his household across the Jordan, together with all of David’s men?” 42 And all the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is our relative. Why does this anger you? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense or received anything for ourselves?” 43 “We have ten shares in the king,” answered the men of Israel, “so we have more claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Were we not the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the men of Judah pressed even harder than the men of Israel.

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Chapter summary

The victory is turned into mourning until Joab confronts the king brutally.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴

The victory is turned into mourning until Joab confronts the king brutally. Thou lovest them that hate thee and hatest them that love thee; speak comfortably to thy servants or not a man will stay the night. David sits in the gate and the army files past. The return is a negotiation: Judah is coaxed back first, with Amasa promised Joab's command; Shimei runs down with a thousand Benjamites and is spared under oath; Mephibosheth, who had neither dressed his feet nor trimmed his beard since the king left, answers Ziba's slander. Barzillai, eighty years old, declines the court because he can no longer taste or hear the singing. At the Jordan the tribes fall to arguing over who owns the king.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary and John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament.

Context

History · Nathan, Gad — 2 Samuel overview

A. 1–8 Joab's blunt rebuke: you love your enemies and hate your friends
B. 9–15 Judah fetches the king back over Jordan
C. 16–23 Shimei begs, and lives another day
D. 24–30 Mephibosheth's unwashed feet and untrimmed beard
E. 31–39 Barzillai at eighty sends Chimham in his place
F. 40–43 Ten parts in the king — the quarrel at Gilgal

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

1 Kings 27 verses
- 1 Kings 2:7But show loving devotion to the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table, because they stood by me when I fled from your brother Absalom.
- 1 Kings 2:8Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’
- 1 Kings 2:25So King Solomon sent the order to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, who struck down Adonijah, and he died.
- 1 Kings 2:35And the king appointed Benaiah son of Jehoiada in Joab’s place over the army, and he appointed Zadok the priest in Abiathar’s place.
- 1 Kings 2:36Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.
- 1 Kings 2:37On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
- Read 1 Kings 2: 1 more there →
2 Samuel 166 verses
- 2 Samuel 16:1When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
- 2 Samuel 16:2“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
- 2 Samuel 16:3“Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’”
- 2 Samuel 16:5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
- 2 Samuel 16:10But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”
- 2 Samuel 16:17“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
- Read 2 Samuel 16 →
2 Samuel 96 verses
- 2 Samuel 9:2And there was a servant of Saul’s family named Ziba. They summoned him to David, and the king inquired, “Are you Ziba?” “I am your servant,” he replied.
- 2 Samuel 9:3So the king asked, “Is there anyone left of Saul’s family to whom I can show the kindness of God?” Ziba answered, “There is still Jonathan’s son, who is lame in both feet.”
- 2 Samuel 9:6And when Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he fell facedown in reverence. Then David said, “Mephibosheth!” “I am your servant,” he replied.
- 2 Samuel 9:10You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is always to eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
- 2 Samuel 9:11And Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do all that my lord the king has commanded.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s own sons.
- 2 Samuel 9:13So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was lame in both feet.
- Read 2 Samuel 9 →
2 Samuel 185 verses
- 2 Samuel 18:4“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
- 2 Samuel 18:5Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.
- 2 Samuel 18:14But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.
- 2 Samuel 18:24Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
- 2 Samuel 18:33The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- Read 2 Samuel 18 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

2 Samuel 194 verses
- 2 Samuel 19:11Then King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to restore the king to his palace, since the talk of all Israel has reached the king at his quarters?
- 2 Samuel 19:12You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’
- 2 Samuel 19:32Barzillai was quite old, eighty years of age, and since he was a very wealthy man, he had provided for the king while he stayed in Mahanaim.
- 2 Samuel 19:40Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham crossed over with him. All the troops of Judah and half the troops of Israel escorted the king.
- Read 2 Samuel 19 →
2 Samuel 154 verses
- 2 Samuel 15:14And David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! We must leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and put the city to the sword.”
- 2 Samuel 15:29So Zadok and Abiathar returned the ark of God to Jerusalem and stayed there.
- 2 Samuel 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
- 2 Samuel 15:33David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.
- Read 2 Samuel 15 →
2 Samuel 172 verses
- 2 Samuel 17:24Then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 17:25Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.
- Read 2 Samuel 17 →
Genesis 312 verses
- Genesis 31:27Why did you run away secretly and deceive me, without even telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and harps.
- Genesis 31:55Early the next morning, Laban got up and kissed his grandchildren and daughters and blessed them. Then he left to return home.
- Read Genesis 31 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.