New International Version
2 Samuel 15:20
20You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”
2 Samuel 15:20 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.
- English Standard Version (ESV)You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander about with us, since I go I know not where? Go back and take your brothers with you, and may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you."
- New King James Version (NKJV)In fact, you came only yesterday. Should I make you wander up and down with us today, since I go I know not where? Return, and take your brethren back. Mercy and truth be with you.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)You arrived only recently, and should I force you today to wander with us? I don’t even know where we will go. Go on back and take your kinsmen with you, and may the Lord show you his unfailing love and faithfulness.”
Context of 2 Samuel 15:20
18All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king. 19The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your people with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.” 21But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.” 22David said to Ittai, “Go ahead, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on with all his men and the families that were with him.
Read all of 2 Samuel 152 Samuel 15:20 word by word
תְּמ֣וֹל׀ בּוֹאֶ֗ךָ וְהַיּ֞וֹם אֲנִֽיעֲךָ֤ עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ לָלֶ֔כֶת וַאֲנִ֣י הוֹלֵ֔ךְ עַ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֖י הוֹלֵ֑ךְ שׁ֣וּב וְהָשֵׁ֧ב אֶת־אַחֶ֛יךָ עִמָּ֖ךְ חֶ֥סֶד וֶאֱמֶֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Whereas thou camestבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- yesterdayתְּמוֹלtemôl temôl · yesterdayH8543
- should I this dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- make thee goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- up and downנוּעַnûa‛ · to shakeH5128
- with us? seeing I goהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980
- whither I may, returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- thy brethrenאָח'âch · brother: male-siblingH251
- mercyחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- and truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 15:20
- Psalms 56:8Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll— are they not in your record?
- Psalms 59:15They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied.
- Amos 8:12People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.
- Hebrews 11:37They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
- 1 Samuel 23:13So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.
- 2 Samuel 2:6May the Lord now show you kindness and faithfulness, and I too will show you the same favor because you have done this.
- Psalms 25:10All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
- Psalms 57:3He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me— God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.
- Psalms 61:7May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever; appoint your love and faithfulness to protect him.
- Psalms 85:10Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.
- Psalms 89:14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.
- Proverbs 14:22Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.
- John 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
- 2 Timothy 1:16May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 15:20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Mercy and truth be with thee - May God ever show thee mercy, as thou showest it to me, and his truth ever preserve thee from error and delusion!Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Thou camest but yesterday - Meaning, “Thou art not a native Israelite, but only a sojourner for a few years, it is not reason therefore that thou shouldst share my calamities. Return to thy place, thy adopted home Jerusalem, and to the king, Absalom” 2 Samuel 15:34-35.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-23Verses 13-23 David determined to quit Jerusalem. He took this resolve, as a penitent submitting to the rod. Before unrighteous Absalom he could justify himself, and stand out; but before the righteous God he must condemn himself, and yield to his judgments. Thus he accepts the punishment of his sin. And good men, when they themselves suffer, are anxious that others should not be led to suffer with them. He compelled none; those whose hearts were with…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2018-20. all the Gittites, six hundred men--These were a body of foreign guards, natives of Gath, whom David, when in the country of the Philistines, had enlisted in his service, and kept around his person. Addressing their commander, Ittai, he made a searching trial of their fidelity in bidding them (2Sa 15:19) abide with the new king.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 15:20
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 15
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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