2 Samuel 15:34
in 2 Samuel 15But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant in time past, so will I now be thy servant; then wilt thou defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
KJV
But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd say - That is, as faithful to thee, as I have been to thy father. David's suggesting this crafty counsel must be reckoned amongst his sins. Nevertheless God was pleased to direct this evil advice to a good end.
This site's exposition
Hushai the Archite was there to meet him
on 2 Samuel 15:32-34
Hushai the Archite meets David at the summit, “with his robe torn and dust on his head”. David sends him back into Absalom's court, where he can “thwart the counsel of Ahithophel” from within. The prayer of verse 31 gets its human means the moment after it is prayed.
This site's exposition
thwart the counsel of Ahithophel
Commentators divide over the deceit David asks of Hushai. John Wesley counts it among David's sins, though God directed it to a good end. Matthew Henry cannot see how to justify it and offers only that a rebel against his father must guard against all men.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
How this gross dissimulation, which David put Hushai upon, can be justified, as a stratagem in war, I do not see. The best that can be made of it is that Absalom, if he rebel against his father, must stand upon his guard against all mankind, and, if he will be deceived, let him be deceived.
2 And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
But if thou return to the city,.... To the city of Jerusalem, from whence it seems he came: and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as he was by usurpation, and by the proclamation of the people with him.
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| הָעִ֣יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| תָּשׁ֗וּב | tashuv | you will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ | leavshalom | to Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֨ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | O king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶֽהְיֶ֔ה | ʾehyeh | I will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֶ֣בֶד | ʾeved | [was] [the] servant of | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אָבִ֤יךָ | ʾavikha | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַֽאֲנִי֙ | vaani | <and> I | H589 → | 874 times |
| מֵאָ֔ז | meaz | from then | H227 → | 141 times |
| וְעַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | <and> I | H589 → | 874 times |
| עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | ʾavdekha | [will be] servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וְהֵפַרְתָּ֣ה | vehefartah | and you will frustrate | H6565 → | |
| לִ֔י | li | for <the> me | ||
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲצַ֥ת | ʾatzat | [the] counsel of | H6098 → | 89 times |
| אֲחִיתֹֽפֶל׃ | ʾachitofel | Ahithophel | H302 → | 20 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
הָעִ֣ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
תָּשׁ֗וּבyou will return
tashuvH7725 →1056 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֤and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙to Absalom
leavshalomH53 →110 times
עַבְדְּךָ֨servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙O king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶֽהְיֶ֔הI will be
ʾehyehH1961 →3559 times
עֶ֣בֶד[was] [the] servant of
ʾevedH5650 →799 times
אָבִ֤יךָfather your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
וַֽאֲנִי֙<and> I
vaaniH589 →874 times
מֵאָ֔זfrom then
meazH227 →141 times
וְעַתָּ֖הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
וַאֲנִ֣י<and> I
vaaniH589 →874 times
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ[will be] servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וְהֵפַרְתָּ֣הand you will frustrate
vehefartahH6565 →
לִ֔יfor <the> me
li
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
עֲצַ֥ת[the] counsel of
ʾatzatH6098 →89 times
אֲחִיתֹֽפֶל׃Ahithophel
ʾachitofelH302 →20 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
Matthew 10:16Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
it leads to
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- Luke 10:3
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
- 1 Corinthians 14:20
Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.
- Colossians 4:5
Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
- Ephesians 5:15–17
Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
- Philippians 2:15
Through
2 Samuel 15:20In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 23:13
Then David and his men, about six hundred strong, set out and departed from Keilah, moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he declined to go…
- 2 Samuel 2:6
Now may the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness, and I will also show you the same favor because you have done this.
- 1 Samuel 23:13
Through
Joshua 8:2And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set up an ambush behind…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 20:14
But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.
- Deuteronomy 20:14
Where this verse is studied
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.