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2 Samuel 16

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Ziba Deceives David 1–4

1
And 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. ​
2
And 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.
3
And 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. ​
4
Then 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. ​

Shimei Curses David 5–14

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. ​
9
Then 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. ​
10
And 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? ​
11
And 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. ​
12
It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. ​
13
And 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.
14
And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

Absalom Enters Jerusalem; Hushai's Ploy 15–19

15
And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. ​
16
And 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. ​
17
And Absalom said to Hushai, Is this thy kindness to thy friend? why wentest thou not with thy friend? ​
18
And 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. ​
19
And 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.

Ahithophel’s Sinful Counsel 20–23

20
Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
21
And 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. ​
22
So 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. ​
23
And 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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 2 Samuel 16

Verse 1

Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth — David had set Ziba and his sons to 'till the land' for Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:10). The gift is 'two hundred loaves of bread' and 'a bottle of wine' (nebel, a skin-bag); Abigail's gift to David was likewise two hundred loaves (1 Sam 25:18).

Verse 3

thy master's son — Mephibosheth, to whom David had given 'all that pertained to Saul' (2 Sam 9:9). Ziba reports that he stays at Jerusalem, saying, 'To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father.' The king later asks Mephibosheth, 'Wherefore wentest not thou with me?' (2 Sam 19:25).

Verse 4

thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth — This reverses the grant of 2 Sam 9:9, and it rests on Ziba's word alone, with Mephibosheth unheard. 'He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him' (Prov 18:13). Ziba's 'I humbly beseech thee' is shachah, to bow down.

Verse 5

Bahurim — A town of Benjamin, where Abner sent Paltiel back (2 Sam 3:16); David later calls Shimei 'a Benjamite of Bahurim' (1 Kings 2:8). Shimei is of Saul's clan, 'the son of Gera'. 'Cursed' is qalal, to make light of, to treat as worthless; he did it 'still as he came'.

Verse 7

thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial — 'Bloody' is from dam, blood. Beliyaal means worthlessness, wickedness; the sons of Eli were 'sons of Belial' (1 Sam 2:12). Shimei turns the title on the king.

Verse 8

all the blood of the house of Saul — David had declared himself 'guiltless before the LORD' of Abner's blood (2 Sam 3:28). Shimei reads Absalom's rising as the LORD's doing: 'hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom'. 'Returned' is shub, the verb of 'requite' in v.12.

Verse 9

this dead dog — Mephibosheth called himself 'such a dead dog as I am' (2 Sam 9:8), and David used the phrase of himself to Saul (1 Sam 24:14). Abishai, brother of Joab (1 Sam 26:6), offers to 'take off' (sur, turn aside) Shimei's head.

Verse 10

What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? — David repeats the rebuke at 2 Sam 19:22. 'The LORD hath said unto him, Curse David': Shimei's cursing is taken as permitted by the LORD, so none may ask, 'Wherefore hast thou done so?' (cf. Rom 9:20).

Verse 11

my son, which came forth of my bowels — Me'eh, the inward parts; the same phrase is used of an heir in Gen 15:4. David argues from the greater to the lesser: if his own son seeks his life, 'this Benjamite' (ben-yemini) may curse. 'The LORD hath bidden him.'

Verse 12

look on mine affliction — 'Oni, misery. Compare Ps 25:18, 'Look upon mine affliction', and Exod 2:25, where God 'looked upon the children of Israel'. 'Requite' is shub, to return, the verb of v.8; the hope is that the LORD will turn the curse to good, as in Deut 23:5.

Verse 15

Ahithophel with him — Absalom had sent for him 'from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices' (2 Sam 15:12), when he was 'David's counsellor'. He now enters Jerusalem with 'all the people the men of Israel', as Hushai had entered at 2 Sam 15:37.

Verse 16

God save the king — Literally 'let the king live' (chayah), the acclamation of 1 Kings 1:34, 'God save king Solomon'. Hushai is called 'David's friend' (re'eh), the title of 2 Sam 15:37; his words carry out David's charge to say, 'I will be thy servant, O king' (2 Sam 15:34).

Verse 17

Is this thy kindness to thy friend? — 'Kindness' is chesed, loyal love. Absalom's 'friend' (rea) is David, a different word from the title given Hushai in v.16. The question, 'why wentest thou not with thy friend?', has its counterpart in David's to Mephibosheth, 'Wherefore wentest not thou with me?' (2 Sam 19:25).

Verse 18

whom the LORD, and this people… choose — Bachar, to choose. Hushai's words can be read of David: Samuel anointed him and the Spirit of the LORD came upon him (1 Sam 16:13) and 'all the elders of Israel' made a league with him at Hebron (2 Sam 5:3). Absalom hears them as naming himself.

Verse 21

Go in unto thy father's concubines — The 'ten women' David left in the house (2 Sam 15:16). 'Abhorred' is ba'ash, to stink, to be made odious. The counsel also fulfils the judgment, 'I will take thy wives before thine eyes' (2 Sam 12:11); compare Lev 18:8.

Verse 22

a tent upon the top of the house — The roof of the palace, 'in the sight of all Israel'. The LORD had said through Nathan, 'I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun' (2 Sam 12:12); David's concubines were afterward shut up in ward (2 Sam 20:3).

Verse 23

as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God — Davar, a word, here the word of God. Such weight lay on Ahithophel's counsel 'both with David and with Absalom'; yet 'the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel' (2 Sam 17:14).