2 Samuel 14:11
in 2 Samuel 14“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 lives,” he vowed, “not a hair of your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember Jehovah thy God, that the avenger of blood destroy not any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
KJV
Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLet the king remember the Lord thy God - Consider that when God is earnestly requested to show mercy, he does it in the promptest manner; he does not wait till the case is hopeless: the danger to which my son is exposed is imminent; if the king do not decide the business instantly, it may be too late. And he said, As the Lord liveth - Thus he binds himself by a most solemn promise and oath; and this is what the woman wanted to extort.
This site's exposition
I will give charge concerning thee
on 2 Samuel 14:8-11
The king's first answer is a bureaucrat's promise, I will give charge concerning thee, and the woman presses past it toward a binding oath. She invokes the Lord's name so that David swears, As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth, a vow stronger than any decree he had yet offered. Clarke observes this was exactly what she was sent to extract, a public word the king could not later take back.
This site's exposition
the avenger of blood
The woman asks the king to invoke the LORD his God so the avenger of blood will spare her son. Matthew Henry hears a reminder that God had spared David for the blood of Uriah. The king swears by the LORD that her son is safe.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Remember how the Lord thy God forgave thee the blood of Uriah, and let the king, that has found mercy, show mercy." Note, Nothing is more proper, nor more powerful, to engage us to every duty, especially to all acts of mercy and kindness, than to remember the Lord our God.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the Lord thy God,.... Who is a God gracious and merciful, and imitate him in showing mercy to the distressed; pitying their case, having compassion upon them, and relieving them, as she hoped he would commiserate her case, and provide for the safety of her son.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Please remember Adonoy. God was stringent concerning the distance [necessary] to save lives. When a person kills accidently, he must go to a city of refuge. These cities should never be too distant from any potential fugitive who may need to go there.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The king said, “Whoever says a word to you, bring him to me, and he shall never harm you again.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּאמֶר֩ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יִזְכָּר־ | yizkor- | let him remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| נָ֨א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מֵהַרְבַּ֞ת | meharvit | from increasing | H7235 → | 227 times |
| גֹּאֵ֤ל | goel | [the] avenger of | H1350 → | |
| הַדָּם֙ | hadam | <the> blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
| לְשַׁחֵ֔ת | leshachet | to destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַשְׁמִ֖ידוּ | yashmidu | they will destroy | H8045 → | 90 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנִ֑י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חַי־ | chai- | [by] [the] life | H2416 → | 498 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | of Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יִפֹּ֛ל | yipol | it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| מִשַּׂעֲרַ֥ת | misaarat | one of [the] hair[s] of | H8185 → | |
| בְּנֵ֖ךְ | benekh | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָֽרְצָה׃ | ʾaretzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
וַתֹּאמֶר֩and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
יִזְכָּר־let him remember
yizkor-H2142 →230 times
נָ֨אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
מֵהַרְבַּ֞תfrom increasing
meharvitH7235 →227 times
גֹּאֵ֤ל[the] avenger of
goelH1350 →
הַדָּם֙<the> blood
hadamH1818 →360 times
לְשַׁחֵ֔תto destroy
leshachetH7843 →146 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יַשְׁמִ֖ידוּthey will destroy
yashmiduH8045 →90 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנִ֑יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
חַי־[by] [the] life
chai-H2416 →498 times
יְהוָ֔הof Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יִפֹּ֛לit will fall
yipolH5307 →435 times
מִשַּׂעֲרַ֥תone of [the] hair[s] of
misaaratH8185 →
בְּנֵ֖ךְson your
benekhH1121 →4930 times
אָֽרְצָה׃[the] ground towards
ʾaretzahH776 →2504 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 Samuel 14:45But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the…
it leads to
- Luke 21:18
Yet not even a hair of your head will perish.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 1:52
And Solomon replied, “If he is a man of character, not a single hair of his will fall to the ground. But if evil is found in him, he will die.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 6:1
As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
- Matthew 10:30
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
- Luke 21:18
Through
Matthew 10:30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
it leads to
- Acts 27:34
So for your own preservation, I urge you to eat something, because not a single hair of your head will be lost.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 12:7
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
- 1 Samuel 14:45
But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die—he who accomplished such a great deliverance for Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the…
- Acts 27:34
Through
Numbers 35:19The avenger of blood is to put the murderer to death; when he finds him, he is to kill him.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 19:12
the elders of his city must send for him, bring him back, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
- Deuteronomy 19:12
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.