2 Samuel 16:10

2 Samuel 16:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’ ”
• English Standard Version (ESV)But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, 'Curse David,' who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)But the king said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who then shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ”

Context of 2 Samuel 16:10

8The Lord has returned upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of Absalom your son. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!” 9Then Abishai [David’s nephew], the son of Zeruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog (despicable person) curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” But the king said, “What business is this of yours, O sons of Zeruiah? If Shimei is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’ ” 11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son [Absalom] who came from my own body, is seeking my life; how much more [reason] now [does] this Benjamite [have to curse me]? Let him alone and let him curse, for [it could be that] the Lord has told him [to do it]. 12Perhaps the Lord will look on the wrong done to me [by Shimei, if he is acting on his own]; and [in that case perhaps] the Lord will this day return good to me in place of his cursing.”

2 Samuel 16:10 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ מַה־לִּ֥י וְלָכֶ֖ם בְּנֵ֣י צְרֻיָ֑ה כֹּ֣ה יְקַלֵּ֗ל כִּ֤י יְהוָה֙ אָ֤מַר לוֹ֙ קַלֵּ֣ל אֶת־דָּוִ֔ד וּמִ֣י יֹאמַ֔ר מַדּ֖וּעַ עָשִׂ֥יתָה כֵּֽן׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• What have I to do with you, ye sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Zeruiahצְרוּיָהtserûyâh · ZeruiahH6870
• so let him curseקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• because the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• Wherefore hast thou done soעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 16:10

• 2 Samuel 3:39Today I am weak, though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too difficult for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer [Joab] in accordance with his wickedness!”
• 2 Samuel 19:22David said, “What business is this of yours, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should be an adversary to me today? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that today I am king over Israel?”
• 1 Kings 2:5Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah [my sister] did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, [both of] whom he murdered; avenging the blood of war in [a time of] peace. And he put the [innocent] blood of war [of Abner and Amasa] on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.
• Matthew 16:23But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man.”
• 1 Kings 22:21Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
• 2 Kings 18:25Now have I come up against this place to destroy it without the Lord’s approval? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’ ” ’ ”
• Lamentations 3:38Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That both adversity (misfortune) and good (prosperity, happiness) proceed?
• John 18:11So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword [back] in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
• Job 9:12Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back? Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
• Ecclesiastes 8:4For the word of a king is authoritative and powerful, And who will say to him, “What are you doing?”
• Daniel 4:35All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth; And no one can hold back His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
• Romans 9:20On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 16:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Because the Lord hath said - The particle וכי vechi should be translated for if, not because. For If the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David, who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so!Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10What have I to do … - See the marginal references compare Matthew 8:29; John 2:4, and a similar complaint about the sons of Zeruiah 2 Samuel 3:39. And for a like striking incident in the life of the Son of David, see Luke 9:52-56.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-14Verses 5-14 David bore Shimei's curses much better than Ziba's flatteries; by these he was brought to pass a wrong judgment on another, by those to pass a right judgment on himself: the world's smiles are more dangerous than its frowns. Once and again David spared Saul's life, while Saul sought his. But innocence is no defence against malice and falsehood; nor are we to think it strange, if we are charged with that which we have been most careful to keep…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10If he curses me because the LORD told him: David thought it might be punishment for past sins. David was actually reducing the violence around him, despite Shimei's accusations.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-125-12. 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…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 16:10

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Clemency
• Forgiveness
• Meekness
• Prayer
• Resignation
• Shimei
• Zeruiah

In the dictionaries

• David
• Meekness
• Providence
• Shimei
• Bible, the
• Horse
• Israel, History of
• Samuel, Books of
• Solomon
• Zeruiah

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings