2 Samuel 18:9

2 Samuel 18:9 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away.
• New International Version (NIV)Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on.

Context of 2 Samuel 18:9

7Where the people of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men . 8For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went away. 10And a certain man saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak. 11And Joab said to the man that told him, And, behold, thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a belt.

2 Samuel 18:9 word by word

וַיִּקָּרֵא֙ אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם לִפְנֵ֖י עַבְדֵ֣י דָוִ֑ד וְאַבְשָׁל֞וֹם רֹכֵ֣ב עַל־הַפֶּ֗רֶד וַיָּבֹ֣א הַפֶּ֡רֶד תַּ֣חַת שׂוֹבֶךְ֩ הָאֵלָ֨ה הַגְּדוֹלָ֜ה וַיֶּחֱזַ֧ק רֹאשׁ֣וֹ בָאֵלָ֗ה וַיֻּתַּן֙ בֵּ֤ין הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וּבֵ֣ין הָאָ֔רֶץ וְהַפֶּ֥רֶד אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתָּ֖יו עָבָֽר׃Read the interlinear

• Absalomאֲבִישָׁלוֹם'ăbîyshâlôm 'abshâlôm · AbsalomH53
• metקָרָאqârâ' · to encounter: meetH7122
• servantsפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
• rodeרָכַבrâkab · to rideH7392
• muleפֶּ֫רֶדpered · muleH6505
• wentבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• boughsשׂוֹבֶךְώôbek · thicketH7730
• greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• oakאֵלָה'êlâh · oakH424
• headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
• fastחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: holdH2388
• hangingנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• awayעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674

Cross-references for 2 Samuel 18:9

• 2 Samuel 18:14Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus with thee. And he took three spears in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak.
• 2 Samuel 14:26And when he cut the hair of his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he cut it : because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he cut it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.
• 2 Samuel 17:23And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey, and arose, and went home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
• Matthew 27:5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
• Deuteronomy 21:23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land may not be defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
• Deuteronomy 27:16Cursed be he that dishonoureth his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
• Job 18:8For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.
• Job 31:3Is not destruction to the wicked? and a strange punishment to the workers of iniquity?
• Psalms 63:9But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
• Proverbs 20:20Whoever curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
• Proverbs 30:17The eye that mocketh at its father, and despiseth to obey its mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.
• Jeremiah 48:44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their punishment, saith the LORD.
• Mark 7:10For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoever curseth father or mother, let him die the death:
• Galatians 3:13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 18:9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9And his head caught hold of the oak - It has been supposed that Absalom was caught by the hair, but no such thing is intimated in the text. Probably his neck was caught in the fork of a strong bough, and he was nearly dead when Joab found him; for it is said, 2 Samuel 18:14, he was yet alive, an expression which intimates he was nearly dead.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9would seem that the two things which his vain-glory boasted in, the royal mule, and the magnificent head of hair by which he was caught in the “oak” (rather, terebinth or turpentine tree), both contributed to his untimely death.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-18Verses 9-18 Let young people look upon Absalom, hanging on a tree, accursed, forsaken of heaven and earth; there let them read the Lord's abhorrence of rebellion against parents. Nothing can preserve men from misery and contempt, but heavenly wisdom and the grace of God.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Absalom, who was very proud of his hair, died because of it. He had set up for himself a pillar (2 Samuel 18:18), but after his death, he was thrown into a pit (2 Samuel 18:17) and did not receive a proper burial. These contrasts highlight the difference between Absalom’s goals and his final outcome.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. Absalom met the servants of David--or was overtaken. "It is necessary to be continually on one's guard against the branches of trees; and when the hair is worn in large locks floating down the back, as was the case with a young man of the party to which I belonged, any thick boughs interposing in the path might easily dislodge a rider from his seat, and catch hold of his flowing hair" [Hartley]. Some, however, think that the sacred historian points not…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Samuel 18:9

• Absalom
• Ephraim
• Gilead
• Mule
• Oak

In the dictionaries

• Absalom
• David
• Charge
• Lift
• Mule
• Oak
• Pillar
• Rise
• Thrust
• Absalom (1)

Commentaries on 2 Samuel 18

• 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