2 Samuel 16:11

2 Samuel 16:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And David said to Abishai and all his servants, “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone, and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him.

Context of 2 Samuel 16:11

9Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over now and cut off his head.” 10But the king said, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ then who shall say, ‘Why have you done so?’” Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my son who came out from me seeks my life; how much more now this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him. 12Perhaps the Lord will look on my affliction and return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” 13So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him.

2 Samuel 16:11 word by word

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר דָּוִ֤ד אֶל־אֲבִישַׁי֙ וְאֶל־כָּל־עֲבָדָ֔יו הִנֵּ֥ה בְנִ֛י אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֥א מִמֵּעַ֖י מְבַקֵּ֣שׁ אֶת־נַפְשִׁ֑י וְאַ֨ף כִּֽי־עַתָּ֜ה בֶּן־הַיְמִינִ֗י הַנִּ֤חוּ לוֹ֙ וִֽיקַלֵּ֔ל כִּ֥י אָֽמַר־ל֖וֹ יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• Then Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• to Abishaiאֲבִישַׁי'ăbîyshay 'abshay · AbishaiH52
• and to allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• his servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• Beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• my sonבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• whoאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• cameיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: produceH3318
• me seeksבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• my lifeנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315
• howאַף'aph · alsoH637
• muchכִּיkîy · forH3588
• nowעַתָּ֫ה‛attâh · nowH6258
• this Benjamiteבֶּן־יְמִינִיben-yemîynîy ben-ha-yemînîy ben-'îysh yemîynîy · BenjaminiteH1145
• Letנוּחַnûach · to restH5117
• and let him curseקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 16:11

• 2 Samuel 12:11Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.
• 2 Samuel 7:2that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”
• Genesis 15:4Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.”
• 2 Samuel 17:1Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight.
• 2 Kings 19:37It came about as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer killed him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son became king in his place.
• 2 Chronicles 32:21And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed every mighty warrior, commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned in shame to his own land. And when he had entered the temple of his god, some of his own children killed him there with the sword.
• Matthew 10:21“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
• Isaiah 10:5Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation,
• Ezekiel 14:9“But if the prophet is prevailed upon to speak a word, it is I, the Lord, who have prevailed upon that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.
• Ezekiel 20:25I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live;

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 16:11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 11Let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him - No soul of man can suppose that ever God bade one man to curse another, much less that he commanded such a wretch as Shimei to curse such a man as David; but this is a peculiarity of the Hebrew language, which does not always distinguish between permission and commandment. Often the Scripture attributes to God what he only permits to be done; or what in the course of his providence he does not hinder. David…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. 11-12How much more: David understood why someone who supported Saul might hate him.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 16:11

• Clemency
• David
• Forgiveness
• Meekness
• Prayer
• Resignation
• Shimei
• Zeruiah

In the dictionaries

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

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