2 Samuel 16:20
in 2 Samuel 16Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give your counsel what we shall do.
KJV
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 16
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThen said Absalom to Ahithophel,.... Having two such able counsellors as he and Hushai, he directs his speech to Ahithophel, as being his first and chief counsellor: give counsel among you what we shall do; he orders them to form a counsel, consult among themselves what was proper to be now done at Jerusalem, whether it was right to stay here or pursue after David and his men. Absalom did not send to the high priest to ask counsel of God, by Urim and Thummim before the ark, but wholly confided in his privy council.
This site's exposition
Give counsel among you what we shall do
on 2 Samuel 16:20-22
Ahithophel's counsel is aimed at politics, that all Israel shall hear Absalom is abhorred of his father and their hands be made strong for war, but the act itself fulfils a word spoken years before this council ever met. Nathan had told David at 12:11-12 that the sword would not depart from his house and that his own wives would be given to his neighbour and lain with in the sight of the sun, and Absalom's tent is spread on the very roof where David first saw Bathsheba. The narrator states the deed in a single flat verse, in the sight of all Israel, and lets the earlier word do the commenting.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Give counsel among you what we shall do--This is the first cabinet council on record, although the deference paid to Ahithophel gave him the entire direction of the proceedings.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֥אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲחִיתֹ֑פֶל | ʾachitofel | Ahithophel | H302 → | 20 times |
| הָב֥וּ | havu | give | H3051 → | |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | for <the> yourselves | ||
| עֵצָ֖ה | ʾetzah | counsel | H6098 → | 89 times |
| מַֽה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| נַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃ | naaseh | will we do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
וַיֹּ֥אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אַבְשָׁל֖וֹםAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲחִיתֹ֑פֶלAhithophel
ʾachitofelH302 →20 times
הָב֥וּgive
havuH3051 →
לָכֶ֛םfor <the> yourselves
lakhem
עֵצָ֖הcounsel
ʾetzahH6098 →89 times
מַֽה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
נַּעֲשֶֽׂה׃will we do
naasehH6213 →2628 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 21:30There is no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel that can prevail against the LORD.
it leads to
- Acts 5:39
But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
- Proverbs 19:21
Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Isaiah 14:27
The LORD of Hosts has purposed, and who can thwart Him? His hand is outstretched, so who can turn it back?
- 1 Corinthians 3:19–20
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Acts 5:39
Through
Psalms 2:2The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One:
it leads to
- Matthew 26:59
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Matthew 27:1
When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
- Revelation 17:12–14
The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but will receive one hour of authority as kings, along with the beast.
- Matthew 26:59
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.