2 Samuel 15:8

2 Samuel 15:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram, saying, 'If the Lord will indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will offer worship to the Lord.'"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For your servant took a vow while I dwelt at Geshur in Syria, saying, ‘If the Lord indeed brings me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’ ”
• New Living Translation (NLT)For while your servant was at Geshur in Aram, I promised to sacrifice to the Lord in Hebron if he would bring me back to Jerusalem.”

Context of 2 Samuel 15:8

6Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel. 7At the end of four years, Absalom said to the king, “Let me go to Hebron and fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. While your servant was living at Geshur in Aram, I made this vow: ‘If the Lord takes me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.’ ” 9The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he went to Hebron. 10Then Absalom sent secret messengers throughout the tribes of Israel to say, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpets, then say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’ ”

2 Samuel 15:8 word by word

כִּי־נֵ֙דֶר֙ נָדַ֣ר עַבְדְּךָ֔ בְּשִׁבְתִּ֥י בִגְשׁ֛וּר בַּאֲרָ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר אִם־יָשׁ֨וֹב יְשִׁיבֵ֤נִי יְהוָה֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם וְעָבַדְתִּ֖י אֶת־יְהוָֽה בְּחֶבְרוֹן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For thy servantעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• vowedנָדַרnâdar · to vowH5087
• a vowנֶ֫דֶרneder nêder · vowH5088
• while I abodeיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• at Geshurגְּשׁוּרgeshûr · GeshurH1650
• in Syriaאֲרָם'ărâm · SyriaH758
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• If the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• shall bring me againשׁוּבshûb · to return: rescueH7725
• indeed to Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלִַ֫ם, יְרוּשְׁלֵםyerûshâlaim yerûshâlayim · JerusalemH3389
• then I will serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: ministerH5647

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 15:8

• Genesis 28:20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear
• 1 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”
• 1 Samuel 16:2But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
• Psalms 56:12I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you.
• Ecclesiastes 5:4When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.
• 2 Samuel 13:37Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But King David mourned many days for his son.
• 2 Samuel 14:23Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
• Joshua 24:15But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
• Isaiah 28:15You boast, “We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.”
• Jeremiah 9:3“They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 42:20that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 15:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8While I abode at Geshur in Syria - Geshur, the country of Talmai, was certainly not in Syria, but lay on the south of Canaan, in or near Edom, as is evident from Judges 1:10; 1 Samuel 27:8; 2 Samuel 13:37. Hence it is probable that ארם Aram, Syria, is a mistake for אדם Edom; ד daleth and ר resh being easily interchangeable. Edom is the reading both of the Syriac and Arabic. I will serve the Lord - Here he pretended to be a strict follower of Jehovah, even…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-12Verses 7-12 See how willing tender parents are to believe the best concerning their children. But how easy and how wicked is it, for children to take advantage of good parents, and to deceive them with the show of religion! The principal men of Jerusalem joined Absalom's feast upon his sacrifice. Pious persons are glad to see others appear religious, and this gives occasion for deceptions. The policy of wicked men, and the subtlety of Satan, are exerted…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8Geshur of Aram: After killing Amnon, Absalom had sought refuge in the homeland of his mother (see study notes on 2 Samuel 13:34–39, 37). Hebron, David's first capital, was the ideal place for Absalom to turn his local popularity into a full revolt against David.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 7-97-9. after forty years--It is generally admitted that an error has here crept into the text, and that instead of "forty," we should read with the Syriac and Arabic versions, and Josephus, "four years"--that is, after Absalom's return to Jerusalem, and his beginning to practice the base arts of gaining popularity. my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord--during his exile in Geshur. The purport of it was, that whenever God's providence should pave the way…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 15:8

• Ambition
• Consecration
• Covenant
• Syria
• Usurpation
• Vows

In the dictionaries

• Geshur
• Jerusalem
• Syria
• Geshur, Geshurites
• Syria, Ashur
• Appoint
• Barefoot
• Hear
• Prepare
• Steal

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