2 Samuel 13:24
in 2 Samuel 13And he went to the king and said, “Your servant has just hired shearers. Will the king and his servants please come with me?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheep-shearers; let the king, I pray thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
KJV
And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd Absalom came to the king,.... At Jerusalem, to invite him in person: and said, behold now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; persons employed in shearing his sheep: and this being a time of entertainment and joy: let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants, go with thy servant; he invited the king and the whole royal family to go with him to Baalhazor, and partake of the sheepshearing feast; for by "his servants" are not meant the king's domestic servants, his guard and retinue, but his sons, as appears by what follows.
This site's exposition
Two years later
on 2 Samuel 13:23-27
Absalom waits two years, then invites the king to his sheepshearing. Only then does Absalom ask for Amnon, so the request that matters looks like an afterthought. The king asks why Amnon should go, but Absalom urges him, and he sends “Amnon and the rest of his sons”.
This site's exposition
has just hired shearers
Absalom goes to the king with word that he has hired shearers at Baal-hazor. Shearing brought a feast with wine and many guests, as with Nabal in 1 Samuel 25. Inviting the king and his servants looked ordinary.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Withhold - This she spoke, because she thought her royal father would dispense with it, upon this extraordinary occasion, to save his first-born son's life: 15. Hated her - By the just judgment of God both upon Amnon and David, that so the sin might be made publick, and way for the succeeding tragedies.
If the sun going down once upon the wrath gives such place to the devil (as is intimated, Eph. iv. 26, 27 ), what would the sunsets of two full years do?
), not only that he might have this opportunity to pay his respects to them, but that he might make himself the more respected among his neighbours. Those that are akin to great folks are apt to value themselves too much on their kindred.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Amnon's character, we have reason to think, was bad in other things; if he had not forsaken God, he would never have been given up to these vile affections. Godly parents have often been afflicted with wicked children; grace does not run in the blood, but corruption does.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim--A sheep-shearing feast is a grand occasion in the East. Absalom proposed to give such an entertainment at his estate in Baal-hazor, about eight miles northeast of Jerusalem near a town called Ephraim (Jos 11:10).
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּבֹ֤א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיֹּ֕אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| נָ֥א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| גֹזְזִ֖ים | gozezim | shearers | H1494 → | |
| לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | leavdekha | [belong] to servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| יֵֽלֶךְ־ | yelekh- | let him go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נָ֥א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַעֲבָדָ֖יו | vaavadav | and servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
וַיָּבֹ֤אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙Absalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיֹּ֕אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הִנֵּה־here!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
נָ֥אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
גֹזְזִ֖יםshearers
gozezimH1494 →
לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ[belong] to servant your
leavdekhaH5650 →799 times
יֵֽלֶךְ־let him go
yelekh-H1980 →1546 times
נָ֥אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַעֲבָדָ֖יוand servants his
vaavadavH5650 →799 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
it leads to
- Psalms 57:4
My soul is among the lions; I lie down with ravenous beasts— with men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Proverbs 5:3–4
Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,
- Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
- Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors while malice is in their hearts.
- Psalms 57:4
Through
Psalms 12:2They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Jeremiah 9:8
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 41:6
My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- Psalms 5:9
For not a word they speak can be trusted; destruction lies within them. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
- Romans 16:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.