2 Samuel 16

When David had gone a little past the top of the hill, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth, met him. Ziba had two donkeys with saddles on them. They carried two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred pieces of summer fruit, and a skin full of wine.

1And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine.

NoteMephibosheth was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson, lame in both feet; David had earlier restored Saul's family land to him and appointed Ziba, a servant of Saul's household, to farm it for him (2 Samuel 9). The "skin full of wine" was a bag sewn from a whole animal hide, the ordinary container for liquid on a journey; the KJV "bottle" does not mean glass. "Summer fruit" is figs, usually pressed into cakes for travel.

2The king asked Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba said, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on. The bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for anyone who grows weak out in the wilderness to drink."

2And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.

Note"Young men" translates a word for a king's servants and retainers, fighting men and attendants of any age, not boys.

3The king asked, "And where is your master's son?" Ziba said to the king, "He is staying in Jerusalem, because he said, 'Today the people of Israel will give my father's kingdom back to me.'"

3And the king said, And where is thy master’s son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.

NoteHebrew uses "son" for any male descendant. Mephibosheth was Saul's grandson, so the kingdom Ziba quotes him as claiming is his grandfather's. Ziba is reporting words no one else hears; when Mephibosheth appears later he denies them (2 Samuel 19:24–30), and the account leaves the two versions standing side by side.

4Then the king said to Ziba, "Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours." Ziba said, "I bow low before you. May you look on me with favor, my lord the king."

4Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king.

NoteA king could seize and reassign the land of a subject judged disloyal. David hands over the entire estate on the word of one party without hearing the other.

5When King David came to the town of Bahurim, a man from the family of Saul came out of it. His name was Shimei son of Gera. As he came, he kept shouting curses.

5And 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.

NoteBahurim was a village in the territory of Benjamin, Saul's own tribe, on the road running east out of Jerusalem toward the Jordan. "Cursing" here is not foul language but the formal calling down of ruin on someone by invoking God's name, an act taken seriously as having real force.

6He threw stones at David and at all of King David's servants, even though all the troops and all the mighty men were on David's right and on his left.

6And 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.

7This is what Shimei said as he cursed: "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!

7And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial:

Note"Man of Belial" is the KJV's transliteration of a Hebrew phrase meaning roughly "son of worthlessness", a stock insult for a scoundrel. "Man of blood" accuses David of bloodguilt: of having killed people whose deaths are still owed an answer.

8The LORD has paid you back for all the blood you spilled in the family of Saul, whose place you took as king. The LORD has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. Look at you, caught in your own evil, because you are a man of blood."

8The 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.

NoteShimei is charging David with the deaths in Saul's family after Saul's own death, among them Abner and Saul's son Ish-bosheth. The narrative elsewhere reports that David neither ordered nor approved these killings; Shimei states the accusation as a fact.

9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over there and cut off his head."

9Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.

NoteA dead dog was about the lowest thing nameable: dogs in this world were half-wild scavengers, not pets. Zeruiah was David's sister, so Abishai and his brother Joab were David's nephews; the phrase "sons of Zeruiah" is used elsewhere in these books for their readiness to settle matters by killing.

10But the king said, "What does this have to do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Let him curse, because the LORD has told him, 'Curse David.' Who then can ask, 'Why have you done this?'"

10And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

Note"What have I to do with you" renders a Hebrew idiom of sharp distancing ("you and I have nothing in common here") used to reject someone's proposal, not to ask a question.

11David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my own son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this man from the tribe of Benjamin. Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.

11And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him.

NoteBenjamin was Saul's tribe, which lost the throne when David took it; a Benjamite had a family reason to hate David.

12It may be that the LORD will see how much I am suffering, and will repay me with good in place of the cursing I am getting today."

12It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day.

13So David and his men went on along the road, while Shimei walked along the slope of the hill across from him. As he went, he cursed, threw stones at David, and flung dust.

13And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

NoteFlinging dust was a recognized public gesture of contempt and of mourning, performed to be seen rather than to do harm.

14The king and all the people with him arrived worn out, and they rested and refreshed themselves there.

14And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

NoteThe Hebrew says only that they arrived "there" without naming a place; some ancient copies read a place name at this point. The stopping place on the road toward the Jordan is left unidentified.

15Meanwhile Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel came with him.

15And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.

NoteAhithophel had been David's own senior adviser before joining Absalom's revolt (2 Samuel 15:12).

16When Hushai the Archite, David's friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to him, "Long live the king! Long live the king!"

16And it came to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, was come unto Absalom, that Hushai said unto Absalom, God save the king, God save the king.

Note"The king's friend" appears to be a formal position at court, a trusted personal counselor, rather than a description of affection. Hushai had been sent back to Jerusalem by David to pose as a deserter and work against Ahithophel's advice (2 Samuel 15:32–37). The KJV's "God save the king" translates a Hebrew shout meaning "Long live the king."

17Absalom said to Hushai, "Is this how loyal you are to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?"

17And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend?

18Hushai said to Absalom, "No. The man chosen by the LORD, by these people, and by all the men of Israel, is the man I will belong to, and I will stay with him.

18And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

NoteHushai never names Absalom. His words can be heard as a pledge to whoever now holds the throne, or as a pledge to the man he still believes God chose, the ambiguity is in the Hebrew and is not resolved.

19Besides, who should I serve? Should I not serve the son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you."

19And again, whom should I serve? should I not serve in the presence of his son? as I have served in thy father’s presence, so will I be in thy presence.

20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give us your advice. What should we do?"

20Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.

21Ahithophel said to Absalom, "Sleep with your father's concubines, the ones he left behind to look after the palace. Then all Israel will hear that your father cannot stand the sight of you, and everyone on your side will be strengthened."

21And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are with thee be strong.

NoteA concubine was a legally recognized secondary wife of lower standing than a full wife, belonging to the household. Publicly taking possession of a king's women was a claim to the throne itself, and it put reconciliation out of reach, which is Ahithophel's point. The Hebrew says Absalom would make himself "a stench" to his father. "The hands of all that are with thee shall be strong" is an idiom for men's nerve holding firm.

22So they put up a tent for Absalom on the flat roof of the palace, and Absalom slept with his father's concubines where all Israel could see.

22So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house; and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

NoteRoofs were flat and used as everyday living space. The palace roof stood above the city and was visible from it, so pitching the tent there made the act deliberately public, the same roof from which David had first seen Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:2).

23In those days, advice from Ahithophel was treated as though a man had asked God himself for an answer. That is how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel's advice.

23And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.

NoteThe Hebrew says his advice was treated like "asking for the word of God", a reference to formally consulting God for a decision, done through a priest or by sacred lots. The comparison is about how reliably right his counsel was thought to be.