2 Samuel 14:32
in 2 Samuel 14“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.
KJV
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHe denies his own crimes, though most notorious, and will not own that there was any iniquity in him, insinuating that therefore he had been wronged in the rebuke he had been under. He defies the king's justice: "Let him kill me, if he can find in his heart," knowing he loved him too well to do it.
This site's exposition
Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire
on 2 Samuel 14:31-33
Absalom protests his own innocence to Joab, it had been good for me to have been there still, and demands the king's face on his own terms, let him kill me if I am guilty. Joab carries the demand, and David answers with a kiss, the physical seal of reconciliation after three years of exile and two more years of silence. The chapter closes on the gesture rather than on any change in Absalom's heart, and the sword promised at 12:10 will fall from that same unaddressed heart within a few chapters.
This site's exposition
let him kill me
Matthew Henry reads the offer as a dare, made by a son who knew his father loved him too much to act on it. John Wesley sees Absalom now standing on his own justification as though the killing deserved no death. He treats the exile itself as the wrong.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Thus he insinuates himself into his father's affections, by pretending such respect and love to him It seems that by this time Absalom having so far recovered his father's favour, began to grow upon him, and take so much confidence as to stand upon his own justification, as if what he had done, had been no iniquity, at least not such as to deserve death.
And Absalom answered Joab,....
The words behind it
32 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 |
| אַבְשָׁל֣וֹם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יוֹאָ֡ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁלַ֣חְתִּי | shalachti | I sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלֶ֣יךָ׀ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לֵאמֹ֡ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בֹּ֣א | bo' | come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| הֵ֠נָּה | henah | here | H2008 → | 49 times |
| וְאֶשְׁלְחָה֩ | veeshlechah | so let me send | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֹתְךָ֨ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֤מָּה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| בָּ֙אתִי֙ | bati | have I come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מִגְּשׁ֔וּר | migeshur | from Geshur | H1650 → | 9 times |
| ט֥וֹב | tov | [was] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לִ֖י | li | for <the> me | ||
| עֹ֣ד | ʾod | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| אֲנִי־ | ʾani- | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | [was] there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אֶרְאֶה֙ | ʾereh | let me see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] face of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יֶשׁ־ | yesh- | there | H3426 → | 140 times |
| בִּ֥י | bi | in <the> me | ||
| עָוֹ֖ן | ʾavon | [is] iniquity | H5771 → | 233 times |
| וֶהֱמִתָֽנִי׃ | vehemitani | and he will kill me | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַבְשָׁל֣וֹםAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יוֹאָ֡בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
הִנֵּ֣הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
שָׁלַ֣חְתִּיI sent
shalachtiH7971 →845 times
אֵלֶ֣יךָ׀to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
לֵאמֹ֡ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בֹּ֣אcome
bo'H935 →2568 times
הֵ֠נָּהhere
henahH2008 →49 times
וְאֶשְׁלְחָה֩so let me send
veeshlechahH7971 →845 times
אֹתְךָ֨<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
לָ֤מָּה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
בָּ֙אתִי֙have I come
batiH935 →2568 times
מִגְּשׁ֔וּרfrom Geshur
migeshurH1650 →9 times
ט֥וֹב[was] good
tovH2896 →538 times
לִ֖יfor <the> me
li
עֹ֣דstill
ʾodH5750 →490 times
אֲנִי־I
ʾani-H589 →874 times
שָׁ֑ם[was] there
shamH8033 →834 times
וְעַתָּ֗הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
אֶרְאֶה֙let me see
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] face of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
יֶשׁ־there
yesh-H3426 →140 times
בִּ֥יin <the> me
bi
עָוֹ֖ן[is] iniquity
ʾavonH5771 →233 times
וֶהֱמִתָֽנִי׃and he will kill me
vehemitaniH4191 →839 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
Proverbs 28:13He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.
it leads to
- 1 John 1:8–10
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
- Psalms 32:3–5
When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.
- Job 31:33
if I have covered my transgressions like Adam by hiding my guilt in my heart,
- Luke 15:18–24
I will get up and go back to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
- Jeremiah 3:12–13
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be…
- 1 John 1:8–10
Through
Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
it leads to
- Galatians 3:10
All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Galatians 3:22–23
But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.
- Romans 2:12–18
All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
- Galatians 3:10
About 2 Samuel

This page draws on 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.
