2 Samuel 19:10
in 2 Samuel 19But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
KJV
And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd Absalom, whom we anointed over us,.... To be king; which either was really done by Absalom's party, or in effect by proclaiming and appointing him king: is dead in battle; which shows the thing was not of God, and by which means they were released from their oath of allegiance to him: now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? nobody speaks of it, gives the least hint of it, or shows any concern about it; but the greatest coldness and indifference, as if it was a matter of no importance.
This site's exposition
The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies
on 2 Samuel 19:9-10
The tribes argue among themselves over a king they had just driven out, and their own words indict the cause they followed: Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. That verb sits beside the true anointing named at 16:6, the Lord's anointed spoken over David while Saul still reigned, and sets a man-made anointing against the one God made and kept. Spurgeon preached the refrain bring the king back as a figure of the greater invitation still open to a king once rejected who returns in power.
This site's exposition
the man we anointed over us
John Gill reads the death of Absalom as a sign the revolt was never of God, which also freed the tribes from their oath to him. Matthew Henry thinks the quarrel among them was over blame. Each tribe accused its neighbour of delay.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Let us therefore return to our allegiance, and think of bringing the king back." Perhaps this was all the strife among them, not a dispute whether the king should be brought back or no (all agreed it was to be done), but whose fault is was that it was not done. As is usual in such cases, every one justified himself and blamed his neighbour.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It was the act of a skilful politician. Hebron having been the seat of the rebellion, it was graceful on his part to encourage their return to allegiance and duty; it was an appeal to their honor not to be the last of the tribes.
THIS morning we were indulged with the Master's blessing while considering one of the most delightful subjects that can ever occupy the minds of God's creatures this side of Heaven [Sermon #807, Good News for Loyal Subjects.] It was a celestial song, fitter for angels' harps than sinners' tongues. We sang the triumphs of the once rejected but now exalted Son of Man. We lingered lovingly over the guarantees of His sure and blessed kingdom, and fed with delight upon that short, sweet sentence, "He must reign."
THIS morning we were indulged with the Master's blessing while considering one of the most delightful subjects that can ever occupy the minds of God's creatures this side of Heaven [Sermon #807, Good News for Loyal Subjects.] It was a celestial song, fitter for angels' harps than sinners' tongues. We sang the triumphs of the once rejected but now exalted Son of Man. We lingered lovingly over the guarantees of His sure and blessed kingdom, and fed with delight upon that short, sweet sentence, "He must reign." We tried to show that the Throne of our Lord Christ is settled on a firm foundation, and that His ultimate and undisputed sovereignty over all things in Heaven and earth and Hell is a matter of Divine decree and will be asserted by the Divine power in due time. We laid the sheaf upon the threshing floor this morning—let us beat out the precious grain this evening. We showed you the pearl, now let us make it a golden setting of practical holiness! The Son of David is assuredly King, and you know it. "Now therefore why speak you not a word of bringing the King back?" Israel had revolted, and set up Absalom against his father—but when the rebel bands had been scattered and Absalom had been slain, the people thought of their old love—they remembered the days when David was the terror of the Philistines and the champion of Israel! Their hearts smote them for their ingratitude to their valiant deliverer, and they said one to the other, "Now therefore why speak you not a word of bringing the king back?" There are three sorts of people in this great throng, to each of whom this text might well be addressed. May none of my three arrows miss the mark! I shall endeavor to speak pointedly, and may the Holy Spirit make an effectual application of each word. May I but win a throne for Jesus in any one heart, and my joy shall be full! I.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The people were reproaching each other. Reproaching each other.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ | veavshalom | and Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מָשַׁ֣חְנוּ | mashachnu | we anointed | H4886 → | 70 times |
| עָלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾaleinu | over us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֵ֖ת | met | he has died | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה | bamilchamah | in the battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| לָמָ֥ה | lamah | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| אַתֶּ֛ם | ʾatem | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| מַחֲרִשִׁ֖ים | macharishim | keeping silent | H2790 → | |
| לְהָשִׁ֥יב | lehashiv | to bring back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ ס | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙and Absalom
veavshalomH53 →110 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhom
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מָשַׁ֣חְנוּwe anointed
mashachnuH4886 →70 times
עָלֵ֔ינוּover us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
מֵ֖תhe has died
metH4191 →839 times
בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑הin the battle
bamilchamahH4421 →320 times
וְעַתָּ֗הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
לָמָ֥ה<to> why?
lamahH4100 →752 times
אַתֶּ֛ם[are] you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
מַחֲרִשִׁ֖יםkeeping silent
macharishimH2790 →
לְהָשִׁ֥יבto bring back
lehashivH7725 →1056 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ סthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 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
Judges 18:9They answered, “Come on, let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why would you fail to act? Do not hesitate to go there and…
it leads to
- Joshua 2:23–24
Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them.
- Numbers 13:30
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly conquer it!”
- John 6:27
Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of…
- Joshua 18:3
So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?
- Joshua 2:23–24
Through
Hosea 8:4They set up kings, but not by Me. They make princes, but without My approval. With their silver and gold they make themselves idols, to their own destruction.
it leads to
- Hosea 13:9–10
You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.
- 2 Kings 15:10–30
Then Shallum son of Jabesh conspired against Zechariah, struck him down and killed him in front of the people, and reigned in his place.
- 1 Kings 16:31
And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then…
- 1 Kings 12:16–20
When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…
- Hosea 13:9–10
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Bringing the King Back; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 808: “Bringing the King Back” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.