2 Samuel 13:4
in 2 Samuel 13so he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said unto him, Why, O son of the king, art thou thus lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.
KJV
And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
lean from day to day
on 2 Samuel 13:4-6
Jonadab reads Amnon's sickness at a glance and supplies the whole plan: feign illness, ask for Tamar by name, get her alone in the inner chamber. A counselor's gift used for evil is worse than none, since it hands sin the cunning it lacked on its own. David comes in person to see his sick son, the first unwitting hinge of a plot he does not yet know exists.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and asks him, " Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? Why dost thou pine, being the king's eldest son, and heir to the crown. Being the king's son, " (1.) "Thou hast the pleasures of the court to divert thee; take those pleasures then, and with them drive away the sorrow, whatever it is." Content and comfort are not always to be found in royal palaces.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And he said unto him, why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day today?....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
my brother Absalom's sister--In Eastern countries, where polygamy prevails, the girls are considered to be under the special care and protection of their uterine brother, who is the guardian of their interests and their honor, even more than their father himself (see on Ge 34:6-25).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ל֗וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| מַדּ֣וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| אַ֠תָּה | ʾatah | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| כָּ֣כָה | kakhah | thus | H3602 → | |
| דַּ֤ל | dal | weak | H1800 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בַּבֹּ֣קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| בַּבֹּ֔קֶר | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| הֲל֖וֹא | halo' | ¿ not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַּגִּ֣יד | tagid | will you tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to <the> me | ||
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אַמְנ֔וֹן | ʾamnon | Amnon | H550 → | 28 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תָּמָ֗ר | tamar | Tamar | H8559 → | 25 times |
| אֲח֛וֹת | ʾachot | [the] sister of | H269 → | 114 times |
| אַבְשָׁלֹ֥ם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אָחִ֖י | ʾachi | brother my | H251 → | 630 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֹהֵֽב׃ | ʾohev | [am] loving | H157 → | 211 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
ל֗וֹto <the> him
lo
מַדּ֣וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
אַ֠תָּה[are] you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
כָּ֣כָהthus
kakhahH3602 →
דַּ֤לweak
dalH1800 →
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
בַּבֹּ֣קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
בַּבֹּ֔קֶרin the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
הֲל֖וֹא¿ not
halo'H3808 →5168 times
תַּגִּ֣ידwill you tell
tagidH5046 →370 times
לִ֑יto <the> me
li
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
אַמְנ֔וֹןAmnon
ʾamnonH550 →28 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תָּמָ֗רTamar
tamarH8559 →25 times
אֲח֛וֹת[the] sister of
ʾachotH269 →114 times
אַבְשָׁלֹ֥םAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אָחִ֖יbrother my
ʾachiH251 →630 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֹהֵֽב׃[am] loving
ʾohevH157 →211 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
Luke 12:32Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
it leads to
- Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
- 1 Peter 1:3–5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- Revelation 1:6
who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Philippians 2:13
For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
- Luke 10:21
At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them…
- Hebrews 12:28
Through
Micah 7:3Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
it leads to
- Micah 3:11
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster…
- Micah 3:11
Through
Leviticus 18:9You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 27:22
‘Cursed is he who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 22:11
One man commits an abomination with his neighbor’s wife; another wickedly defiles his daughter-in-law; and yet another violates his sister, his own father’s daughter.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 27:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.