2 Samuel 14:24
in 2 Samuel 14But the king added, “He may return to his house, but he must not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the king.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, but let him not see my face. So Absalom turned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
KJV
And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king’s face.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseLet him turn - Lest whilst be shewed some mercy to Absalom, he should seem to approve of his sin. Likewise by this means Absalom might be drawn to a more thorough humiliation and repentance.
This site's exposition
brought Absalom to Jerusalem
on 2 Samuel 14:23-24
Joab fetches Absalom from Geshur, but David's order lands short of full restoration, let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. The pardon and the distance stand side by side, and the phrase saw not the king's face will be repeated at verse 28 to measure exactly how long that distance held. Clarke reads the king's caution as a proper mark of his own respect for justice, forgiving the life while still refusing the presence, so mercy and the memory of the crime are both kept in view.
This site's exposition
he must not see my face
The king let Absalom return to his own house on the condition that he never see the king's face. Albert Barnes calls this a half measure. Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Though he was the son of such a devout father, we read nothing of his devotion. Parents cannot give grace to their children, though they give them ever so good an education. All that is here said of him is, 1.
And the king said,....
After an account of Absalom, his person, and family, we are told how at length he was introduced by Joab into the king's presence, and the king was thoroughly reconciled to him,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Let him not see my face - He would not at once restore him to favor, though he had now remitted his crime; so that he should not die for it. It was highly proper to show this detestation of the crime, and respect for justice.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Let him not see my face - We are not told why David adopted this half-measure. Possibly Bath-sheba’s influence may have been exerted to keep Absalom in disgrace for the sake of Solomon.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יִסֹּ֣ב | yiso | he will turn | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֔וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וּפָנַ֖י | ufanai | and face my | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִרְאֶ֑ה | yireh | he will see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וַיִּסֹּ֤ב | vaiyiso | and he turned | H5437 → | 161 times |
| אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בֵּית֔וֹ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וּפְנֵ֥י | ufenei | and [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| רָאָֽה׃ ס | raah | he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
יִסֹּ֣בhe will turn
yisoH5437 →161 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֔וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וּפָנַ֖יand face my
ufanaiH6440 →2123 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יִרְאֶ֑הhe will see
yirehH7200 →1300 times
וַיִּסֹּ֤בand he turned
vaiyisoH5437 →161 times
אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙Absalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בֵּית֔וֹhouse his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וּפְנֵ֥יand [the] face of
ufeneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
רָאָֽה׃ סhe saw
raahH7200 →1300 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
Revelation 22:4They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.
it leads to
- Revelation 14:1
Then I looked and saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144,000 who had His name and His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Matthew 5:8
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
- Revelation 3:12
The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the…
- 1 John 3:2–3
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as…
- Hebrews 12:14
Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
- Revelation 14:1
Through
Genesis 43:3But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
it leads to
- Genesis 44:23
But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your younger brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
- Genesis 43:5
But if you will not send him, we will not go; for the man told us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’”
- Genesis 44:23
Through
2 Samuel 3:13“Good,” replied David, “I will make a covenant with you. But there is one thing I require of you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to…
it leads to
- Genesis 43:3
But Judah replied, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You will not see my face again unless your brother is with you.’
- Genesis 43:3
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.