1 And David hath passed on a little from the top, and lo, Ziba, servant of Mephibosheth — to meet him, and a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred [of] summer-fruit, and a bottle of wine. 2 And the king saith unto Ziba, 'What — these to thee?' and Ziba saith, 'The asses for the household of the king to ride on, and the bread and the summer-fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for the wearied to drink in the wilderness.' 3 And the king saith, 'And where [is] the son of thy lord?' and Ziba saith unto the king, 'Lo, he is abiding in Jerusalem, for he said, To-day do the house of Israel give back to me the kingdom of my father.' 4 And the king saith to Ziba, 'Lo, thine [are] all that Mephibosheth hath;' and Ziba saith, 'I have bowed myself — I find grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king.' 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].' 9 And Abishai son of Zeruiah saith unto the king, 'Why doth this dead dog revile my lord the king? let me pass over, I pray thee, and I turn aside his head.' 10 And the king saith, 'What — to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah? for — let him revile; even because Jehovah hath said to him, Revile David; and who saith, Wherefore hast Thou done so?' 11 And David saith unto Abishai, and unto all his servants, 'Lo, my son who came out of my bowels is seeking my life, and also surely now the Benjamite; leave him alone, and let him revile, for Jehovah hath said [so] to him; 12 it may be Jehovah doth look on mine affliction, and Jehovah hath turned back to me good for his reviling this day.' 13 And David goeth with his men in the way, and Shimei is going at the side of the hill over-against him, going on, and he revileth, and stoneth with stones over-against him, and hath dusted with dust. 14 And the king cometh in, and all the people who [are] with him, wearied, and they are refreshed there. 15 And Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, have come in to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him, 16 and it cometh to pass, when Hushai the Archite, David's friend, hath come unto Absalom, that Hushai saith unto Absalom, 'Let the king live! let the king live!' 17 And Absalom saith unto Hushai, 'This thy kindness with thy friend! why hast thou not gone with thy friend?' 18 And Hushai saith unto Absalom, 'Nay, for he whom Jehovah hath chosen, and this people, even all the men of Israel, his I am, and with him I abide; 19 and secondly, for whom do I labour? is it not before his son? as I served before thy father so am I before thee.' 20 And Absalom saith unto Ahithophel, 'Give for you counsel what we do.' 21 And Ahithophel saith unto Absalom, 'Go in unto the concubines of thy father, whom he left to keep the house, and all Israel hath heard that thou hast been abhorred by thy father, and the hands of all who [are] with thee have been strong.' 22 And they spread out for Absalom the tent on the roof, and Absalom goeth in unto the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel. 23 And the counsel of Ahithophel which he counselled in those days [is] as [when] one inquireth at the word of God; so [is] all the counsel of Ahithophel both to David and to Absalom.
2 Samuel · Young's Literal Translation
2 Samuel 16 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Absalom
David's handsome son who avenged Tamar, rebelled against his father, and briefly seized the throne.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 3:3; 2 Samuel 15-18
Ahithophel
David's counselor from Giloh, whose advice was regarded like the word of God; he joined Absalom's conspiracy, advised him to take David's concubines and to pursue David at once,…
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Samuel 15:31; 2 Samuel 16:23
David
The shepherd who became Israel's greatest king and a man after God's own heart.
Cited in the guide: 1 Sam. 16 - 1 Kings 2; 2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 2:15; Matt. 1:6
Gera
Named as the father of Shimei, the Benjamite from Bahurim who cursed David.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 16:5; 2 Samuel 19:16; 1 Kings 2:8
Hushai
David's friend, who at David's request returned to Jerusalem as Absalom's servant and defeated Ahithophel's counsel with advice Absalom judged better.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 15:32; 2 Samuel 15:37; 2 Samuel 16:16
Shimei
A man of Saul's house from Bahurim, who cursed and threw stones at David as he fled Absalom and then begged forgiveness on David's return, when David swore he would not die.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 16:5; 2 Samuel 16:7; 2 Samuel 19:16
Ziba
A servant of Saul's family whom David summoned to find Jonathan's heir; with fifteen sons and twenty servants he was set to farm Saul's land for Mephibosheth, later brought…
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 9:2; 2 Samuel 9:10; 2 Samuel 16:1
Cross references (21)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 1 Samuel 25:18; 2 Samuel 15:32; 1 Samuel 10:3; Jeremiah 40:10; 1 Chronicles 12:40
- 2 2 Samuel 17:29; Judges 10:4; Judges 5:10; 2 Samuel 15:23; Ezekiel 37:18
- 3 2 Samuel 9:9–10; Psalm 15:3; Psalm 88:18; 2 Samuel 19:24–30; Proverbs 1:19
- 4 Proverbs 18:13; Proverbs 18:17; Exodus 23:8; Proverbs 19:2; Deuteronomy 19:15
- 5 2 Samuel 3:16; 1 Samuel 17:43; 1 Kings 2:8–9; Exodus 22:28; 1 Kings 2:36–46
- 7 Deuteronomy 13:13; 1 Kings 21:10; 1 Samuel 2:12; 1 Samuel 25:17; 2 Samuel 3:37
- 8 2 Samuel 1:16; 2 Samuel 3:28–29; 1 Kings 2:32–33; Judges 9:56–57; Judges 9:24
- 9 Exodus 22:28; 2 Samuel 9:8; 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 3:8; 1 Peter 2:17
- 10 2 Samuel 19:22; Romans 9:20; John 18:11; 1 Peter 2:23; Genesis 50:20
- 11 2 Chronicles 32:21; Ezekiel 20:25; Ezekiel 14:9; Isaiah 10:5–7; 2 Samuel 12:11–12
- 12 Deuteronomy 23:5; Hebrews 12:10; Psalm 25:18; Romans 8:28; Exodus 2:24–25
- 13 Acts 23:23
- 15 2 Samuel 15:37; 2 Samuel 15:12
- 16 2 Kings 11:12; 1 Samuel 10:24; 1 Kings 1:25; Matthew 21:9; 2 Samuel 15:37
- 17 2 Samuel 19:25; Proverbs 17:17; Proverbs 18:24; Deuteronomy 32:6; 2 Samuel 15:32–37
- 18 1 Samuel 16:13; 2 Samuel 5:1–3
- 19 2 Samuel 15:34; Psalm 55:21; 1 Samuel 28:2; Galatians 2:13; 1 Samuel 29:8
- 20 Psalm 2:2; Acts 4:23–28; Proverbs 21:30; Isaiah 29:15; Psalm 37:12–13
- 21 2 Samuel 20:3; 2 Samuel 15:16; 2 Samuel 2:7; Leviticus 18:8; Zechariah 8:13
- 22 2 Samuel 15:16; 2 Samuel 12:11–12; 2 Samuel 20:3; Numbers 25:6; Jeremiah 3:3
- 23 2 Samuel 15:12; 2 Samuel 17:23; 2 Samuel 17:14; 1 Corinthians 3:19–20; Psalm 19:7
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For, "Let him curse," saith he, "for the Lord hath bidden him: that the Lord may see my humiliation, and requite me for this cursing of his on this day." And Paul too proclaims the triumph not of those only who incur danger, or are deprived of their goods, but of these also, thus saying, "Call to remembrance the former …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)