2 Samuel 19

KJV · Chapter 19/24

¹And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom.

²And the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard say that day how the king was grieved for his son.

³And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle.

⁴But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!

⁵And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;

⁶In that thou lovest thine enemies, and hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that thou regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well.

⁷Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee from thy youth until now.

⁸Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.

⁹And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king saved us out of the hand of our enemies, and he delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land for Absalom.

¹⁰And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?

¹¹And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.

¹²Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?

¹³And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.

¹⁴And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.

¹⁵So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.

¹⁶And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David.

¹⁷And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.

¹⁸And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan;

¹⁹And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart.

²⁰For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.

²¹But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?

²²And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

²³Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.

²⁴And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace.

²⁵And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth?

²⁶And he answered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the king; because thy servant is lame.

²⁷And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.

²⁸For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king?

²⁹And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.

³⁰And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house.

³¹And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan.

³²Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.

³³And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem.

³⁴And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?

³⁵I am this day fourscore years old: and can I discern between good and evil? can thy servant taste what I eat or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing men and singing women? wherefore then should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?

³⁶Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward?

³⁷Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own city, and be buried by the grave of my father and of my mother. But behold thy servant Chimham; let him go over with my lord the king; and do to him what shall seem good unto thee.

³⁸And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me, and I will do to him that which shall seem good unto thee: and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, that will I do for thee.

³⁹And all the people went over Jordan. And when the king was come over, the king kissed Barzillai, and blessed him; and he returned unto his own place.

⁴⁰Then the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him: and all the people of Judah conducted the king, and also half the people of Israel.

⁴¹And, behold, all the men of Israel came to the king, and said unto the king, Why have our brethren the men of Judah stolen thee away, and have brought the king, and his household, and all David’s men with him, over Jordan?

⁴²And all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, Because the king is near of kin to us: wherefore then be ye angry for this matter? have we eaten at all of the king’s cost? or hath he given us any gift?

⁴³And the men of Israel answered the men of Judah, and said, We have ten parts in the king, and we have also more right in David than ye: why then did ye despise us, that our advice should not be first had in bringing back our king? And the words of the men of Judah were fiercer than the words of the men of Israel.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joab rebukes David for publicly mourning the death of an enemy instead of celebrating with his victorious army. David then reclaims the throne, forgiving Shimei and welcoming Mephibosheth, while a dispute breaks out between the tribes of Judah and Israel over who brought the king back.

Explanation

Joab, with his characteristic bluntness, forces David to put his royal duty above personal grief — a reminder that leaders sometimes must balance legitimate emotions with public responsibilities. David's generous treatment of former enemies (Shimei) and uncertain allies (Mephibosheth) shows his effort to rebuild national unity through mercy. But the dispute between Judah and the other tribes at the end of the chapter already signals tensions that will soon flare up again and, decades later, will permanently divide the kingdom.

Fun facts

Barzillai, the 80-year-old man who helped David during his exile, turns down personal rewards but asks that his servant Chimham be favored in his place — a gesture of humility and generosity aimed at the next generation.
The rivalry between Judah and the rest of the tribes of Israel expressed here directly foreshadows the future division of the kingdom into the Northern Kingdom (Israel) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah), which will occur after Solomon's death.

Verse-by-verse explanation

2 Samuel 19:1Joab is told that the king is weeping and mourning the death of Absalom.
2 Samuel 19:2That day’s victory turns into mourning for the whole army, because everyone hears that the king is deeply grieved over his son.
2 Samuel 19:3The people sneak back into the city that day, like those fleeing in shame from a defeat, even though they had won the battle.
2 Samuel 19:4David covers his face and keeps crying out loudly: “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
2 Samuel 19:5Joab goes to David and rebukes him, saying he has shamed the servants who risked their lives to save him, his sons, his daughters, and his wives.
2 Samuel 19:6Joab accuses David of loving those who hate him and hating those who love him, since he is acting as though he would rather Absalom lived and everyone else died.
2 Samuel 19:7Joab demands that David get up and speak to the people, warning that if he does not go out, no one will remain with him that very night.
2 Samuel 19:8David gets up and sits at the gate; the people come to present themselves before him, while the rest of Israel flees to their own homes.
2 Samuel 19:9Throughout all the tribes of Israel the people argue among themselves, recalling that it was David who delivered them from the Philistines, and now he is off the throne because of Absalom.
2 Samuel 19:10The people ask themselves why they remain silent instead of bringing the king back, since Absalom, whom they had anointed, has already died in battle.
2 Samuel 19:11David sends the priests Zadok and Abiathar to ask the elders of Judah why they should be the last to bring the king back.
2 Samuel 19:12David appeals to his kinship with Judah, calling them brothers, his own bone and flesh, so that they will not delay in bringing him back.
2 Samuel 19:13David also sends a message to Amasa, promising to make him commander of the army in Joab’s place, since he too is a relative.
2 Samuel 19:14This appeal moves the hearts of all the men of Judah, who send word to David inviting him to return with all his servants.
2 Samuel 19:15David turns back and reaches the Jordan, while Judah goes to Gilgal to meet him on the other side of the river.
2 Samuel 19:16Shimei, the same man who had cursed David during the flight, hurries down with the men of Judah to welcome him.
2 Samuel 19:17A thousand men of Benjamin accompany Shimei, along with Ziba and his fifteen sons and twenty servants, all rushing to cross the Jordan ahead of the king.
2 Samuel 19:18As they cross over to bring the king’s household across, Shimei falls down before David as soon as he crosses the Jordan.
2 Samuel 19:19Shimei asks the king not to hold his guilt against him nor remember the wrong he did on the day David left Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 19:20Shimei publicly acknowledges his own sin, but points out that he was the first of the whole house of Joseph to come down to welcome him back.
2 Samuel 19:21Abishai reacts by asking that Shimei be put to death for having cursed the Lord’s anointed.
2 Samuel 19:22David again rebukes the sons of Zeruiah, asking why they insist on being his adversaries on the very day he becomes king again.
2 Samuel 19:23David swears to Shimei that he will not die, forgiving him publicly.
2 Samuel 19:24Mephibosheth appears without having washed his feet, trimmed his beard, or washed his clothes since David’s departure — traditional signs of genuine mourning that serve here as proof that he truly grieved the king’s exile and was not colluding with Absalom, as Ziba had implied.
2 Samuel 19:25Arriving in Jerusalem to meet the king, David asks Mephibosheth why he did not go along in the flight.
2 Samuel 19:26Mephibosheth explains that his own servant Ziba deceived him: he asked for a donkey to be saddled so he could go with the king, but was prevented because he is lame.
2 Samuel 19:27Mephibosheth says Ziba slandered him to the king, but trusts that David, like an angel of God, will do what is right.
2 Samuel 19:28Mephibosheth recalls that all his father’s house deserved death before the king, yet he was still placed among those who eat at the king’s table — so he has nothing more to complain about.
2 Samuel 19:29David cuts the conversation short and decides that Mephibosheth and Ziba should divide the land between them.
2 Samuel 19:30Mephibosheth answers that Ziba may have it all, since what mattered most to him was that the king had returned safely.
2 Samuel 19:31Barzillai the Gileadite also comes down from Rogelim to accompany the king across the Jordan.
2 Samuel 19:32Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years old, and had provided for David with supplies while he was at Mahanaim, being a wealthy man.
2 Samuel 19:33David invites Barzillai to come with him to Jerusalem, promising to care for him there.
2 Samuel 19:34Barzillai asks how many years of life he has left to justify going up with the king to Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 19:35Barzillai describes old age in very physical terms — no longer telling flavors apart, no longer hearing singers — to politely decline David’s invitation to live in the palace: he would rather die near his parents’ tomb.
2 Samuel 19:36Barzillai offers only to accompany the king a little further beyond the Jordan, without expecting any great reward for it.
2 Samuel 19:37Barzillai asks to go back and die in his own city, near his parents’ tomb, and suggests that the young man Chimham go in his place with the king.
2 Samuel 19:38David agrees to take Chimham and promises to do for him whatever Barzillai asks.
2 Samuel 19:39After all the people cross the Jordan, the king kisses Barzillai, blesses him, and he returns home.
2 Samuel 19:40David goes on to Gilgal, taking Chimham with him, accompanied by all the people of Judah and half the people of Israel.
2 Samuel 19:41The men of Israel complain to Judah for having brought the king back on their own, without including the rest of the people in that decision.
2 Samuel 19:42Judah answers that the king is their close relative, and asks why Israel would be angry about it, since they gained no special favor.
2 Samuel 19:43Israel argues it has more claim to the king, being ten tribes against one, and the argument between the two sides only grows worse, with Judah speaking more forcefully than Israel.

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