2 Samuel 17:20

2 Samuel 17:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
• New International Version (NIV)When Absalom’s men came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman answered them, “They crossed over the brook.” The men searched but found no one, so they returned to Jerusalem.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” So the woman said to them, “They have gone over the water brook.” And when they had searched and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
• New Living Translation (NLT)When Absalom’s men arrived, they asked her, “Have you seen Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied, “They were here, but they crossed over the brook.” Absalom’s men looked for them without success and returned to Jerusalem.

Context of 2 Samuel 17:20

18But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it. 19And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it. When Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house, they said, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" And the woman said to them, "They have gone over the brook of water." And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem. 21After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, "Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you." 22Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.

2 Samuel 17:20 word by word

וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ עַבְדֵי֩ אַבְשָׁל֨וֹם אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֜ה הַבַּ֗יְתָה וַיֹּֽאמְרוּ֙ אַיֵּ֗ה אֲחִימַ֙עַץ֙ וִיה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן וַתֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה עָבְר֖וּ מִיכַ֣ל הַמָּ֑יִם וַיְבַקְשׁוּ֙ וְלֹ֣א מָצָ֔אוּ וַיָּשֻׁ֖בוּ יְרוּשָׁלִָֽם׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when Absalom’sאֲבִישָׁלוֹם'ăbîyshâlôm 'abshâlôm · AbsalomH53
• servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• to the houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Ahimaazאֲחִימַ֫עַץ'ăchîyma‛ats · AhimaazH290
• and Jonathanיְהוֹנָתָןyehônâthân · JonathanH3083
• unto them, They be gone overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• the brookמִיכָלmîykâl · brookH4323
• of waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• And when they had soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• and could not findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• they returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 17:20

• 2 Samuel 15:34But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father's servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,' then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
• Exodus 1:19The midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them."
• Joshua 2:4But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
• 1 Samuel 19:14And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."
• 1 Samuel 21:2And David said to Ahimelech the priest, "The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, 'Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.' I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.
• 1 Samuel 27:11And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, "lest they should tell about us and say, 'So David has done.'" Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines.
• Joshua 2:22They departed and went into the hills and remained there three days until the pursuers returned, and the pursuers searched all along the way and found nothing.

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 17:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20As soon as ever she had hid the men she went into the house, as if busy about her usual occupations. Had Absalom‘s servants, who had had information from some of the people of Bahurim that the men had come to this house, found her in the court it might have directed their attention to the peeled barley. Over the brook of water - Compare 2 Samuel 16:9 note. The word for “brook” (“Michal”) occurs only here. One has been found in this very district, still so…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18-20Bahurim was where Shimei, a supporter of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, lived (2 Samuel 16:5; 19:16). Shimei’s cursing of David at Bahurim showed David’s decline. In contrast, the escape of Ahimaaz and Jonathan showed hope for David’s return to power.Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 17:20

• Abiathar
• Ahimaaz
• Ahithophel
• Falsehood
• Friendship
• Jonathan
• Zadok

In the dictionaries

• Jerusalem
• Jonathan
• Ahimaaz
• Ahithophel
• Instead
• Prayer
• Bahurim
• Bible, the
• David
• Israel, History of

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 17

• 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