5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.
6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:
8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.
5 And when king H4428 David H1732 came H935 to Bahurim, H980 behold, thence came out H3318 a man H376 of the family H4940 of the house H1004 of Saul, H7586 whose name H8034 was Shimei, H8096 the son H1121 of Gera: H1617 he came forth, H3318 and cursed H7043 still as he came. H3318
6 And he cast H5619 stones H68 at David, H1732 and at all the servants H5650 of king H4428 David: H1732 and all the people H5971 and all the mighty men H1368 were on his right hand H3225 and on his left. H8040
7 And thus said H559 Shimei H8096 when he cursed, H7043 Come out, H3318 come out, H3318 thou bloody H1818 man, H376 and thou man H376 of Belial: H1100
8 The LORD H3068 hath returned H7725 upon thee all the blood H1818 of the house H1004 of Saul, H7586 in whose stead thou hast reigned; H4427 and the LORD H3068 hath delivered H5414 the kingdom H4410 into the hand H3027 of Absalom H53 thy son: H1121 and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, H7451 because thou art a bloody H1818 man. H376
5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out, and cursed still as he came.
6 And he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Begone, begone, thou man of blood, and base fellow:
8 Jehovah hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and Jehovah hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and, behold, thou art `taken' in thine own mischief, because thou art a man of blood.
5 And king David hath come in unto Bahurim, and lo, thence a man is coming out, of the family of the house of Saul, and his name `is' Shimei, son of Gera, he cometh out, coming out and reviling;
6 and he stoneth David with stones, and all the servants of king David, and all the people, and all the mighty men on his right and on his left.
7 And thus said Shimei in his reviling, `Go out, go out, O man of blood, and man of worthlessness!
8 Jehovah hath turned back on thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned, and Jehovah doth give the kingdom in to the hand of Absalom thy son; and lo, thou `art' in thine evil, for a man of blood thou `art'.'
5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed,
6 and cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David; and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 And thus said Shimei as he cursed: Away, away, thou man of blood and man of Belial!
8 Jehovah has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and Jehovah has given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and behold, thou art [taken] in thine own evil, for thou art a man of blood.
5 When king David came to Bahurim, behold, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came out, and cursed still as he came.
6 He cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left.
7 Thus said Shimei when he cursed, Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, and base fellow:
8 Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and Yahweh has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son; and, behold, you are [taken] in your own mischief, because you are a man of blood.
5 And when King David came to Bahurim, a man of Saul's family named Shimei, the son of Gera, came out from there, calling curses after him.
6 And he sent stones at David and at all the king's servants and at all the people and at all the men of war by his side, on the right hand and on the left.
7 And Shimei said, with curses, Be gone, be gone, you man of blood, you good-for-nothing:
8 The Lord has sent punishment on you for all the blood of the family of Saul, whose kingdom you have taken; and the Lord has given the kingdom to Absalom, your son: now you yourself are taken in your evil, because you are a man of blood.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 2 Samuel 16
Commentary on 2 Samuel 16 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 16
2Sa 16:1-4. Ziba, by False Suggestions, Claims His Master's Inheritance.
1. Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him—This crafty man, anticipating the certain failure of Absalom's conspiracy, took steps to prepare for his future advancement on the restoration of the king.
a bottle of wine—a large goatskin vessel. Its size made the supply of wine proportioned to the rest of his present.
2. The asses be for the king's household to ride on—The royal fugitives were moving on foot, not from inability to procure conveyances, but as being suitable to their present state of humiliation and penitence.
3. To-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father—Such a hope might not unnaturally arise at this period of civil distraction, that the family of David would destroy themselves by their mutual broils, and the people reinstate the old dynasty. There was an air of plausibility in Ziba's story. Many, on whom the king had conferred favors, were now deserting him. No wonder, therefore, that in the excitement of momentary feeling, believing, on the report of a slanderer, Mephibosheth to be among the number, he pronounced a rash and unrighteous judgment by which a great injury was inflicted on the character and interests of a devoted friend.
2Sa 16:5-19. Shimei Curses David.
5-12. when king David came to Bahurim—a city of Benjamin (2Sa 3:16; 19:16). It is, however, only the confines of the district that are here meant.
Shimei, … a man of the family of Saul—The misfortune of his family, and the occupation by David of what they considered their rightful possessions, afforded a natural, if not a justifiable cause for this ebullition of rude insults and violence. He upbraided David as an ambitious usurper, and charged him, as one whose misdeeds had recoiled upon his own head, to surrender a throne to which he was not entitled. His language was that of a man incensed by the wrongs that he conceived had been done to his house. David was guiltless of the crime of which Shimei accused him; but his conscience reminded him of other flagrant iniquities; and he, therefore, regarded the cursing of this man as a chastisement from heaven. His answer to Abishai's proposal evinced the spirit of deep and humble resignation—the spirit of a man who watched the course of Providence, and acknowledged Shimei as the instrument of God's chastening hand. One thing is remarkable, that he acted more independently of the sons of Zeruiah in this season of great distress than he could often muster courage to do in the days of his prosperity and power.
13. went along on the hill's side over against him—as he descended the rough road on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, "went along on the hill's side"—literally, "the rib of the hill."
threw stones at him—as a mark of contempt and insult.
cast dust—As if to add insult to injury, clouds of dust were thrown by this disloyal subject in the path of his unfortunate sovereign.
14. refreshed themselves there—that is, in the city of Bahurim.
15-19. Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king—Hushai's devotion to David was so well-known, that his presence in the camp of the conspirators excited great surprise. Professing, however, with great address, to consider it his duty to support the cause which the course of Providence and the national will had seemingly decreed should triumph, and urging his friendship for the father as a ground of confidence in his fidelity to the son, he persuaded Absalom of his sincerity, and was admitted among the councillors of the new king.
2Sa 16:20-23. Ahithophel's Counsel.
20. Give counsel among you what we shall do—This is the first cabinet council on record, although the deference paid to Ahithophel gave him the entire direction of the proceedings.
21. Ahithophel said unto Absalom—This councillor saw that now the die was cast; half measures would be inexpedient. To cut off all possibility of reconciliation between the king and his rebellious son, he gave this atrocious advice regarding the treatment of the royal women who had been left in charge of the palace. Women, being held sacred, are generally left inviolate in the casualties of war. The history of the East affords only one parallel to this infamous outrage of Absalom.