2 Samuel 18:31
in 2 Samuel 18Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And, behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, Tidings for my lord the king; for Jehovah hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
KJV
And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 18
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
David sat between the two gates--that is, in the tower-house on the wall that overhung the gate of Mahanaim. Near it was a watchtower, on which a sentinel was posted, as in times of war, to notify every occurrence.
This site's exposition
Turn aside, and stand here
on 2 Samuel 18:30-32
David sets Ahimaaz aside and waits for Cushi, who is met with the same question: is the young man Absalom safe? Cushi answers as carefully as a man can who must tell his king the truth, the enemies of my lord the king be as that young man is, letting David hear his son's death without the word itself ever being spoken. Gill reads the answer as shaped so David could not turn his anger on the messenger, even though the message itself was the heaviest one Cushi had to bring.
This site's exposition
the LORD has avenged you
The Cushite frames the victory as the LORD's judgment, the same wording Ahimaaz had asked to carry at verse 19. Salvian reads the deliverance as fuller than David himself wished, since it cost him his son. Albert Barnes renders the opening as a formal greeting.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When his rebellious son chased him from his kingdom, the Lord soon delivered David. Not only did the Lord deliver him, but [he] delivered him more fully than the one delivered wished. This was that God might show that the injustice is more grievous to …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And, behold, Cushi came,.... A little after: and Cushi said, tidings, my lord the king; news is sent and brought by me, and good news it is: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee; they are either killed or dispersed; there is an entire victory over them, and deliverance from them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Tidings ... - Rather, “Let my lord the king receive the good tidings.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הַכּוּשִׁ֖י | hakushi | the Cushite | H3569 → | 26 times |
| בָּ֑א | ba' | [was] coming | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַכּוּשִׁ֗י | hakushi | the Cushite | H3569 → | 26 times |
| יִתְבַּשֵּׂר֙ | yitbaser | let him receive [the] news | H1319 → | 24 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֣י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שְׁפָטְךָ֤ | shefatekha | he has vindicated you | H8199 → | 202 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַיּ֔וֹם | haiyom | this day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| מִיַּ֖ד | miyad | from [the] hand of | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַקָּמִ֥ים | hakamim | those [who] rose up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עָלֶֽיךָ׃ ס | ʾaleikha | on you | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְהִנֵּ֥הand here!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הַכּוּשִׁ֖יthe Cushite
hakushiH3569 →26 times
בָּ֑א[was] coming
ba'H935 →2568 times
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַכּוּשִׁ֗יthe Cushite
hakushiH3569 →26 times
יִתְבַּשֵּׂר֙let him receive [the] news
yitbaserH1319 →24 times
אֲדֹנִ֣יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שְׁפָטְךָ֤he has vindicated you
shefatekhaH8199 →202 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַיּ֔וֹםthis day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
מִיַּ֖דfrom [the] hand of
miyadH3027 →1618 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַקָּמִ֥יםthose [who] rose up
hakamimH6965 →628 times
עָלֶֽיךָ׃ סon you
ʾaleikhaH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
2 Samuel 18:19Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 15:36
Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.”
- 2 Samuel 18:23
“No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. “Then run!” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
- Romans 12:19
Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
- Psalms 7:8–9
The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.
- Psalms 10:14
But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- 2 Samuel 15:36
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Salvian the Presbyter, THE GOVERNANCE OF GOD 2.3-4.