2 Samuel 19:27
in 2 Samuel 19and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
KJV
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWhy do you marvel, Peter? for the reason why we are deceived is, because we be men. What? have you forgotten how David, who usually had the spirit of prophecy, pronounced sentence against innocent Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, when he gave credit to the lying words of his servant Siba? Which thing notwithstanding because it was done by David, we both believe to be just in the secret judgment of God, and yet by human reason how it was just we cannot perceive.
This site's exposition
my servant deceived me
on 2 Samuel 19:26-28
Mephibosheth's account contradicts Ziba's directly: he had ordered an ass saddled to ride to David, lame as he was, and Ziba slandered him instead of doing as told. He calls David an angel of God able to judge between the two accounts and submits to whatever David decides, the same kindness of God David promised him at 9:3 now tested against a servant's word. Gregory the Dialogist read the episode centuries later as proof that even a man who usually carried the spirit of prophecy could still be deceived, since he remained a man.
This site's exposition
like the angel of God
Mephibosheth says Ziba has slandered him to the king. The woman of Tekoa used the same comparison with the angel of God at 14:17. Adam Clarke reads him as leaving his case to the king's own judgment, and Matthew Henry notes how much harm a wicked servant can do to the best of masters.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king,....
How much mischief is it in the power of a wicked servant to do to the best master! He gratefully acknowledged the king's great kindness to him when he and all his father's house lay at the king's mercy,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The king is as an angel of God - As if he had said, I state my case plainly and without guile; thou art too wise not to penetrate the motives from which both myself and servant have acted. I shall make no appeal; with whatsoever thou determinest I shall rest contented.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Besides dyeing it black or red colors, which, however, is the exception, and not the rule in the East, there are various modes of trimming it: they train it into a massy, bushy form, swelling and round; or they terminate it like a pyramid, in a sharp point. Whatever the mode, it is always trimmed with the greatest care; and they usually carry a small comb for the purpose.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְרַגֵּ֣ל | vayragel | and he has slandered | H7270 → | 25 times |
| בְּעַבְדְּךָ֔ | beavdekha | <in> servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲדֹנִ֖י | ʾadoni | lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַאדֹנִ֤י | vadoni | and lord my | H113 → | 333 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְ | kemalakh | [is] like [the] angel of | H4397 → | 213 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וַעֲשֵׂ֥ה | vaaseh | and do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הַטּ֖וֹב | hatov | the good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| בְּעֵינֶֽיךָ׃ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
וַיְרַגֵּ֣לand he has slandered
vayragelH7270 →25 times
בְּעַבְדְּךָ֔<in> servant your
beavdekhaH5650 →799 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲדֹנִ֖יlord my
ʾadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַאדֹנִ֤יand lord my
vadoniH113 →333 times
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְ[is] like [the] angel of
kemalakhH4397 →213 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
וַעֲשֵׂ֥הand do
vaasehH6213 →2628 times
הַטּ֖וֹבthe good
hatovH2896 →538 times
בְּעֵינֶֽיךָ׃in view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 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
1 Samuel 29:9Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 14:20
Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 14:17
And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God.…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 14:20
Through
Jeremiah 9:4“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
it leads to
- Micah 7:5–6
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
- Proverbs 26:24–25
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Psalms 12:2–3
They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
- Proverbs 25:18
Like a club or sword or sharp arrow is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.
- Proverbs 10:18
The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
- Micah 7:5–6
Through
2 Samuel 14:17And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God.…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 29:9
Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
- 1 Samuel 29:9
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Gregory the Dialogist, Dialogues, Book 1, Chapter 4; Gregory the Dialogist, Dialogues; 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 Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.