2 Samuel 19:23
in 2 Samuel 19So the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king swore an oath to him.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
KJV
Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseTherefore the king said unto Shimei, thou shalt not die,.... This day by my hands, or order, or by the sword, 1Ki 2:8, and the king sware unto him; that he should not die for that offence, or for that only; but if he committed a new one, this oath was no longer binding on him, and not at all upon his heir and successor.
This site's exposition
he cursed the LORD’s anointed
on 2 Samuel 19:21-23
Abishai asks whether Shimei should die “because he cursed the LORD’s anointed”. David answers, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you”, much as he answered at 16:10. He tells Shimei, “You shall not die”, and swears an oath to him.
This site's exposition
the king swore an oath
John Gill limits the oath to David's own hand and to this offence, which leaves room for David's charge to Solomon at 1 Kings 2:8. John Wesley hears David reasoning from his own forgiveness. A pardoned king pardons.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
King - Is not my kingdom, which was in a manner wholly lost, just now restored and assured to me? And when God hath been so merciful to me in forgiving my sin, shall I shew myself revengeful to Shemei? Shall I sully the publick joy and glory of this day, with an act of such severity?
The pleasantness of his spirit on this great occasion forbade the entrance of any thing that was sour and peevish: joyful days should be forgiving days. Yet this was not all; his experience of God's mercy in restoring him to his kingdom, his exclusion from which he attributed to his sin, inclined him to show mercy to Shimei. Those that are forgiven must forgive.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Expressing the deepest regret for his former outrageous conduct, he was pardoned on the spot; and although the son of Zeruiah urged the expediency of making this chief a public example, his officiousness was repulsed by David with magnanimity, and with the greater confidence that he felt himself now re-established in the kingdom (see on 1Ki 2:8).
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֧אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שִׁמְעִ֖י | shimi | Shimei | H8096 → | 43 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָמ֑וּת | tamut | you will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁ֥בַֽע | vaiyishava' | and he swore an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ ס | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּ֧אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שִׁמְעִ֖יShimei
shimiH8096 →43 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תָמ֑וּתyou will die
tamutH4191 →839 times
וַיִּשָּׁ֥בַֽעand he swore an oath
vaiyishava'H7650 →186 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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
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.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 1:16
For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood be on your own head because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I killed the LORD’s anointed.’”
- 2 Samuel 15:23
Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.
- Joshua 2:19
If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with…
- Ezekiel 18:13
He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.
- Leviticus 20:9
If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
- 2 Samuel 1:16
Through
1 Kings 2:46Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Now Solomon son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and highly exalted him.
- 1 Kings 2:12
So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established.
- 2 Chronicles 1:1
Through
1 Samuel 28:10Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 14:11
“Please,” she replied, “may the king invoke the LORD your God to prevent the avenger of blood from increasing the devastation, so that my son may not be destroyed!” “As surely as the LORD…
- 2 Samuel 14:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.