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2 Samuel 19:18

in 2 Samuel 19

and crossed at the ford to carry over the king’s household and to do what was good in his sight. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And there went over a ferry-boat to bring over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he was come over the Jordan.

KJV

And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan;

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This verse in 2 Samuel 19

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

There went over a ferry-boat - This is the first mention of any thing of the kind. Some think a bridge or raft is what is here intended.

This site's exposition

came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king

on 2 Samuel 19:15-18

The crossing at Jordan draws a company from every side: a thousand men of Benjamin under Shimei, Ziba with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and a ferry boat to carry the king's household over, the first mention of such a vessel anywhere in Scripture. Henry calls the crossing the most solemn since Joshua led Israel over the same river, and notes that David had already remembered Jordan from exile at Psalm 42:6. Two men who had wronged David in his flight, Shimei and Ziba, are both named here crossing to meet him now that he returns.

This site's exposition

crossed at the ford

The Hebrew word has been read as a ford, a ferry boat, or with Matthew Henry, a fleet or bridge of boats. Albert Barnes renders the timing as the moment David was about to cross, so Shimei's prostration takes place on the east bank. Henry notes that a public offence called for public submission.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): He fell down before the king, as a penitent, as a supplicant; and, that he might be thought sincere, he did it publicly before all David's servants, and his friends the men of Judah, yea, and before his own thousand. The offence was public, therefore the submission ought to be so. He owns his crime: Thy servant doth know that I have sinned.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

A fleet of boats, say some; a bridge of boats was made, say others; the best convenience they had to serve him with. Two remarkable persons met him on the banks of Jordan, both of whom had abused him wretchedly when he was in his flight.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Expressing the deepest regret for his former outrageous conduct, he was pardoned on the spot; and although the son of Zeruiah urged the expediency of making this chief a public example, his officiousness was repulsed by David with magnanimity, and with the greater confidence that he felt himself now re-established in the kingdom (see on 1Ki 2:8).
As he was come over Jordan - Render, “when he was crossing,” i. e., just embarking for the purpose of crossing. The scene still lies on the east bank. Shimei left nothing undone to soften, if possible, David’s resentment.

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְעָבְרָ֣הand it passed over

    veaverahH5674 →556 times

  • הָעֲבָרָ֗הthe ford

    haavarahH5679 →

  • לַֽעֲבִיר֙to bring over

    laavirH5674 →556 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • בֵּ֣ית[the] household of

    beitH1004 →2046 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • וְלַעֲשׂ֥וֹתand to do

    velaasotH6213 →2628 times

  • הַטּ֖וֹבthe good

    hatovH2896 →538 times

  • בְּעֵינָ֑יוin eyes his

    beaynoH5869 →887 times

  • וְשִׁמְעִ֣יand Shimei

    veshimiH8096 →43 times

  • בֶן־[the] son of

    ven-H1121 →4930 times

  • גֵּרָ֗אGera

    gera'H1617 →9 times

  • נָפַל֙he fell

    nafalH5307 →435 times

  • לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before

    lifneiH6440 →2123 times

  • הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • בְּעָבְר֖וֹwhen passed he

    beaveroH5674 →556 times

  • בַּיַּרְדֵּֽן׃in the Jordan

    baiyardenH3383 →182 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

4 in all, six open

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Revelation 3:9

    Look at those who belong to the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews but are liars instead. I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know…

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 60:14

      The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…

    • Revelation 2:9

      I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan.

    • Isaiah 49:23

      Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…

    • Isaiah 45:14

      This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, along with the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge…

    • Isaiah 43:4

      Because you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and nations in place of your life.

  • Through

    Psalms 66:3

    Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 18:44

      When they hear me, they obey me; foreigners cower before me.

    • Psalms 65:5

      With awesome deeds of righteousness You answer us, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.

    • Psalms 81:15

      Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience, and their doom would last forever.

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David Mourns the Death of Absalom — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
2 Samuel: the study guide →Read 2 Samuel 19 →

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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Samuel 19 →