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?
• 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?’ ”
• New Living Translation (NLT)“No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the Lord has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

Context of 2 Samuel 16:10

8The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has given the kingdom into the hands of your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a murderer!” 9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.” 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?’ ” 11David 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. 12It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.”

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 3:39And today, though I am the anointed king, I am weak, and these sons of Zeruiah are too strong for me. May the Lord repay the evildoer according to his evil deeds!”
• 2 Samuel 19:22David replied, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? What right do you have to interfere? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t I know that today I am king over Israel?”
• 1 Kings 2:5“Now you yourself know what Joab son of Zeruiah did to me—what he did to the two commanders of Israel’s armies, Abner son of Ner and Amasa son of Jether. He killed them, shedding their blood in peacetime as if in battle, and with that blood he stained the belt around his waist and the sandals on his feet.
• Matthew 16:23Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
• 1 Kings 22:21Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
• 2 Kings 18:25Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.’ ”
• Lamentations 3:38Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?
• John 18:11Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”
• Job 9:12If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
• Ecclesiastes 8:4Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”
• Daniel 4:35All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”
• Romans 9:20But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make 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