2 Samuel 14:17
in 2 Samuel 14And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.
KJV
Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Absalom has reason to complain that he is treated by his own father more sternly and severely than the meanest subject in the realm; and the whole nation will have cause for saying that the king shows more attention to the petition of a humble woman than to the wishes and desires of a whole kingdom.
This site's exposition
the people have made me afraid
on 2 Samuel 14:15-17
She closes her case with the fear that drove her, the people have made me afraid, and folds in a flattering line that the king discerns good and bad like an angel of God. The same comparison recurs at verse 20 in Joab's own mouth once the trick is exposed, so the flattery becomes a line the reader is let in on before David is. Wesley reads her closing therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee as the reward she promises a king who forgives what strict justice would condemn.
This site's exposition
just like the angel of God
The woman credits the king with the power to discern good and evil like the angel of God. Albert Barnes takes this as praise that the king's word would be as right as heaven's. Such praise left David little room to refuse her.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Angel - In wisdom, and justice, and goodness. Therefore - Because thou art so wise and gracious to those who in strict justice deserve punishment, God will own and stand by thee in this thy act of grace: or God will prosper thee in thy enterprizes.
Then thine handmaid said, the word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable,....
"And, in order to this, the Lord thy God will be with thee, to assist thee in this and every judgment thou givest." Great expectations are great engagements, especially to persons of honour, to do their utmost not to disappoint those that depend upon them. The hand of Joab is suspected by the king, and acknowledged by the woman, to be in all this,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
As an angel of God - Rather, as “the” Angel of God; and therefore whatever David decided would be right.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שִׁפְחָ֣תְךָ֔ | shifchatekha | maidservant your | H8198 → | 63 times |
| יִֽהְיֶה־ | yihyeh- | may it become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נָּ֛א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| דְּבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֥י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לִמְנוּחָ֑ה | limnuchah | <into> rest | H4496 → | |
| כִּ֣י׀ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְ | kemalakh | like [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כֵּ֣ן | ken | [is] so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֤י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙ | lishmoa' | to hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| הַטּ֣וֹב | hatov | <the> good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| וְהָרָ֔ע | vehara' | and <the> bad | H7451 → | 662 times |
| וַֽיהוָ֥ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְהִ֥י | yehi | may he be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עִמָּֽךְ׃ פ | ʾimakh | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
שִׁפְחָ֣תְךָ֔maidservant your
shifchatekhaH8198 →63 times
יִֽהְיֶה־may it become
yihyeh-H1961 →3559 times
נָּ֛אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
דְּבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
אֲדֹנִ֥יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לִמְנוּחָ֑ה<into> rest
limnuchahH4496 →
כִּ֣י׀for
kiH3588 →4482 times
כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְlike [the] angel of
kemalakhH4397 →213 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
כֵּ֣ן[is] so
kenH3651 →771 times
אֲדֹנִ֤יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙to hear
lishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
הַטּ֣וֹב<the> good
hatovH2896 →538 times
וְהָרָ֔עand <the> bad
vehara'H7451 →662 times
וַֽיהוָ֥הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
יְהִ֥יmay he be
yehiH1961 →3559 times
עִמָּֽךְ׃ פwith you
ʾimakhH5973 →1050 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 3:9Therefore give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
it leads to
- James 1:5
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
- Hebrews 5:14
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
- Proverbs 16:16
How much better to acquire wisdom than gold! To gain understanding is more desirable than silver.
- John 5:30
I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- Proverbs 2:3–9
if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
- James 1:5
Through
Hebrews 5:14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 2:14–15
The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21
but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.
- Philippians 1:9–10
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,
- 1 Corinthians 2:14–15
About 2 Samuel

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.
