2 Samuel 19:36
in 2 Samuel 19Your servant could go with the king only a short distance past the Jordan; why should the king repay me with such a reward?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thy servant would but just go over the Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
KJV
Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?
⋯
This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWill the master thank that servant who only does what was his duty to do? He though he had done himself honour enough in doing the king any service. Thus, when the saints shall be called to inherit the kingdom in consideration of what they have done for Christ in this world, they will be amazed at the disproportion between the service and the recompence.
This site's exposition
How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king
on 2 Samuel 19:34-37
Barzillai declines the king's offer on the ground of age alone, fourscore years old and past discerning good from evil, unable to taste what he eats or hear the singers who would perform at court. Henry reads his speech as a pattern for old age generally, dead to the delights of sense that once moved him, asking only to die in his own city and be buried by his father's grave. He asks nothing for himself and everything for Chimham, who goes over with the king in his place.
This site's exposition
a short distance past the Jordan
Barzillai calls his great provision a small service, only going with the king a short distance past the Jordan. Matthew Henry sets this beside the saints at the judgment, amazed at the reward given for what they did, as at Matthew 25:37. John Gill hears plain duty in it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king,.... That is, go a little way after he was over Jordan with him, and then return to his own city: and why should the king recompense it with such a reward? the sense is, why should the king recompense so trifling a thing as I have done, and which was but my duty, with such a reward, as to maintain me in so grand a manner at his court?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
His declining to go to court, his recommendation of his son, his convoy across the Jordan, and his parting scene with the king, are interesting incidents. What mark of royal favor was bestowed on Chimham has not been recorded; but it is probable that David gave a great part of his personal patrimony in Beth-lehem to Chimham and his heirs in perpetuity (Jer 41:17).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּמְעַ֞ט | kimat | like a little | H4592 → | 101 times |
| יַעֲבֹ֧ר | yaavor | he will pass over | H5674 → | 556 times |
| עַבְדְּךָ֛ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וְלָ֙מָּה֙ | velamah | and <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יִגְמְלֵ֣נִי | yigmeleni | will he reward me | H1580 → | |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַגְּמוּלָ֖ה | hagemulah | the reward | H1578 → | |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
כִּמְעַ֞טlike a little
kimatH4592 →101 times
יַעֲבֹ֧רhe will pass over
yaavorH5674 →556 times
עַבְדְּךָ֛servant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וְלָ֙מָּה֙and <to> why?
velamahH4100 →752 times
יִגְמְלֵ֣נִיwill he reward me
yigmeleniH1580 →
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
הַגְּמוּלָ֖הthe reward
hagemulahH1578 →
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 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
Luke 6:38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- Deuteronomy 15:10
Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything…
- Mark 4:24
He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.
- Proverbs 3:9–10
Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest;
- Matthew 7:2
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6–8
About 2 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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.
