2 Samuel 19:42
in 2 Samuel 19And all the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “We did this because the king is our relative. Why does this anger you? Have we ever eaten at the king’s expense or received anything for ourselves?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then are ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all at the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?
KJV
And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?
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This verse in 2 Samuel 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judah grounded their right to take the lead, on the ground of their nearer relationship to the king. This was a claim dangerous to the house of David; and it shows the seeds were already sown for that tribal dissension which, before long, led to the dismemberment of the kingdom.
This site's exposition
Then the king went on to Gilgal
on 2 Samuel 19:40-43
Judah escorts David across on the strength of nearest kinship, but Israel arrives asking why their brethren stole the king away without them, claiming ten parts in the king by tribal count against Judah's one. Judah answers that they gained nothing personally by it, only loyalty, yet the men of Judah spoke fiercer words than Israel did in reply. Henry reads the quarrel as the seed of the division that breaks open in the next chapter, since a people already arguing over who loves the king more is a people not far from arguing over who follows him at all.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. 2 And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
(1.) They plead relations to the king: " He is near of kin to us, and therefore in a matter of mere ceremony, as this was, we may claim precedency. It was into our country that he was to be brought, and therefore who so fit as we to bring him?" (2.) They deny the insinuated charge of self-seeking in what they had done: " Have we eaten at all of the king's cost?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? - We have not done this for our own advantage; we have gained nothing by it; we did it through loyal attachment to our king.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּעַן֩ | vaiyaan | and he answered | H6030 → | 331 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | <the> man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יְהוּדָ֜ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָר֤וֹב | karov | [is] close | H7138 → | |
| הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְלָ֤מָּה | velamah | and <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֶּה֙ | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| חָרָ֣ה | charah | has it burned | H2734 → | 91 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַדָּבָ֖ר | hadavar | the matter | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּ֑ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הֶאָכ֤וֹל | heakhol | ¿ really <to eat> | H398 → | 810 times |
| אָכַ֙לְנוּ֙ | ʾakhalnu | have we eaten | H398 → | 810 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| נִשֵּׂ֥את | niset | really <be taken away> | H5379 → | |
| נִשָּׂ֖א | nisa' | has it been taken away | H5375 → | 656 times |
| לָֽנוּ׃ ס | lanu | by <the> us |
וַיַּעַן֩and he answered
vaiyaanH6030 →331 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אִ֨ישׁ<the> man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יְהוּדָ֜הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אִ֣ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָר֤וֹב[is] close
karovH7138 →
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙the king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
וְלָ֤מָּהand <to> why?
velamahH4100 →752 times
זֶּה֙this
zehH2088 →1180 times
חָרָ֣הhas it burned
charahH2734 →91 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַדָּבָ֖רthe matter
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּ֑ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הֶאָכ֤וֹל¿ really <to eat>
heakholH398 →810 times
אָכַ֙לְנוּ֙have we eaten
ʾakhalnuH398 →810 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
נִשֵּׂ֥אתreally <be taken away>
nisetH5379 →
נִשָּׂ֖אhas it been taken away
nisa'H5375 →656 times
לָֽנוּ׃ סby <the> us
lanu
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
2 Samuel 5:1Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:1–3
Then all Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- Genesis 29:14
Then Laban declared, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” After Jacob had stayed with him a month,
- 2 Samuel 19:13
And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- Deuteronomy 17:15
you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not…
- 1 Chronicles 11:1–3
Through
2 Samuel 19:12You are my brothers, my own flesh and blood. So why should you be the last to restore the king?’
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:30
For we are members of His body.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 5:1
Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Here we are, your own flesh and blood.
- Genesis 2:23
And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.”
- Judges 9:2
“Please ask all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Is it better for you that seventy men, all the sons of Jerubbaal, rule over you, or just one man?’ Remember that I am your own flesh…
- Ephesians 5:30
About 2 Samuel

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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.
