2 Samuel 15:25
in 2 Samuel 15Then the king said to Zadok, “Return the ark of God to the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and let me see both it and His dwelling place again.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favor in the eyes of Jehovah, he will bring me again, and show me both it, and his habitation:
KJV
And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God into the city: if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and shew me both it, and his habitation:
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This verse in 2 Samuel 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseCarry back the ark - David shows here great confidence in God, and great humility. The ark was too precious to be exposed to the dangers of his migrations; he knew that God would restore him if he delighted in him, and he was not willing to carry off from the city of God that without which the public worship could not be carried on. He felt, therefore, more for this public worship and the honor of God, than he did for his own personal safety.
This site's exposition
bearing the ark of the covenant of God
on 2 Samuel 15:24-26
Zadok and the Levites carry the ark out with the fleeing king, the same box Israel once dragged into battle at Aphek to force God's hand, in 1 Samuel 4. David sends it back. His words at verse 25, if I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, and his surrender at verse 26, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him, refuse to treat the ark as a guarantee of his throne. Clarke reads the order as reverence for the ark joined to confidence in the God it represents rather than in the box itself.
This site's exposition
Return the ark of God
John Wesley gives a second reason, care for the priests, since David had once exposed the priests of Nob to Saul's fury at 1 Samuel 22. Carrying the ark into flight would make them targets again. Matthew Henry notes that Zadok, as Abiathar's assistant, attended the ark most closely.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Carry back - Out of care and reverence to the ark, which though it might be carried our to a certain place; yet he might justly think unfit to carry it from place to place he knew not whither, and out of respect to the priests, whom, by this means, he thought he should expose to the rage of Absalom, as he had before exposed them to Saul's fury.
Abiathar was high priest ( 1 Kings ii. 35 ), but Zadok was his assistant, and attended the ark most closely, while Abiathar was active in public business,
13, 15 ), but, " Let him to what he will, " subscribing to his wisdom and goodness. Note, It is our interest, as well as duty, cheerfully to acquiesce in the will of God, whatever befals us. That we may not complain of what is, let us see God's hand in all events; and, that we may not be afraid of what shall be, let us see all events in God's hand.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And the king said unto Zadok, carry back the ark of God into the city,....
The words behind it
18 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 |
| לְצָד֔וֹק | letzadok | to Zadok | H6659 → | 53 times |
| הָשֵׁ֛ב | hashev | take back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲר֥וֹן | ʾaron | [the] ark of | H727 → | 202 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הָעִ֑יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶמְצָ֥א | ʾemtza' | I will find | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵן֙ | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וֶהֱשִׁבַ֕נִי | veheshivani | and he will bring back me | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| וְהִרְאַ֥נִי | vehirani | and he will show me | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֹת֖וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> it | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נָוֵֽהוּ׃ | navehu | habitation his | H5116 → |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
לְצָד֔וֹקto Zadok
letzadokH6659 →53 times
הָשֵׁ֛בtake back
hashevH7725 →1056 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֲר֥וֹן[the] ark of
ʾaronH727 →202 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
הָעִ֑ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
אֶמְצָ֥אI will find
ʾemtza'H4672 →455 times
חֵן֙favor
chenH2580 →69 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וֶהֱשִׁבַ֕נִיand he will bring back me
veheshivaniH7725 →1056 times
וְהִרְאַ֥נִיand he will show me
vehiraniH7200 →1300 times
אֹת֖וֹ<obj.> it
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
נָוֵֽהוּ׃habitation his
navehuH5116 →
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
Psalms 84:10For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
it leads to
- Psalms 27:4
One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the…
- Psalms 26:8–10
O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
- Psalms 63:2
So I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and glory.
- Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- Romans 8:5–6
Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
- Psalms 27:4
Through
Exodus 15:13With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.
it leads to
- Psalms 77:20
You led Your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
- 1 Peter 1:5
who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Psalms 77:20
Through
Psalms 26:8O LORD, I love the house where You dwell, the place where Your glory resides.
it leads to
- Psalms 84:10
For better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
- Psalms 84:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.