Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 31 July 2022
Our passage picks up after David’s son Absalom staged a coup which left David fleeing for his life out of Jerusalem and towards the border. Encounters with various people along the way are recorded in the Bible, and I want to center down on two dubious characters: Ziba and Shimei and analyze what God tells us to think when we meet people like them.
READ passage in NAW: Now, when David had passed over a bit from the summit, there was Tsiba, servant of Mephibosheth, to greet him, along with a pair of donkeys roped together, and upon them, 200 bread-loaves, and 100 raisin-cakes, and 100 date-cakes, and a container of wine. So the king said to Tsiba, “What are these you have?” And Tsiba said, “The donkeys are for the household of the King to ride, and the bread and the date-cakes are for his servants to eat, and the wine is for him who is exhausted in the wilderness to drink.” Then the king said, “And where is the son of your master?” And Tsiba said to the king, “See, he is residing in Jerusalem because he said, ‘Today the {sons} of Israel will return to me the kingdom of my father!’” Then the king said to Tsiba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you!” And Tsiba said, “I have bowed down; let me find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.” Presently, King David arrived at Bahurim, and there was a man from there - from the family of the house of Saul, who came forth, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept coming out and cursing. And he took potshots at David, and at all the servants of King David and all the people and all the mighty men at his right and at his left, with rocks. And in his cursing, Shimei said this: “Go away, go away, man of bloodshed and man of ungodliness! Yahweh has caused to return upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, because you became king after him. Then Yahweh has given the kingdom into the control of Absalom your son! Now, look at you in your bad-times, for you are a man of bloodshed!” Then Abishai, son of Tseruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my master the king? Please let me go over and remove his head!” But the king said, “What do I have in common with y’all, sons of Tseruiah? {Leave him be;} so let him curse, for Yahweh Himself said to him, ‘Curse David,’ and who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’” David also said to Abishai and to all of his servants, “Look, my son who came out from my inner parts is trying to take my life, and now, in addition, there’s this son of the Benjamites. Give him a break, and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. Perhaps Yahweh will pay regard to my {depression}, and return good to me instead of His curse this day.” So David walked on, along with his men, down the road. Shimei also kept walking along the ridge of the slope at his side, and he cursed and took potshots with stones at his side and dusted them with dust. Thus the king (and all his people with him) arrived at Ayephim, and they found refreshment there.
Review
Tsiba, remember, was previously one of King Saul’s servants (2 Sam. 9:2), so David continued to think of Tsiba as Saul’s or Jonathan’s servant, even after Saul and Jonathan were dead and he was technically serving their surviving heir.
When David had become king, he had assigned Tsiba to manage all of Saul’s property for the benefit of Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth (2 Sam. 9:9).
But when you think of a royal servant like Tsiba, think of a manager who is pretty well-to-do. Seven chapters ago we read that Tsiba had 15 sons and 20 servants of his own, and there may have been more now (2 Sam. 9:10).
Tsiba “brown-noses” with food and transportation and obsequiousness
He brought a pair of donkeys roped together for household members of the king to ride – Hooray, some of the royal wives can rest their tired feet!
200 bread-loaves – enough for everybody to fill their empty bellies!
100 raisin-cakes, and 100 “Summer-fruit” (lit.), which the Greek Bible tradition translates as “dates1,” but the Latin and Aramaic Bible traditions translate as “figs” “for the king’s servants to eat” Sweet snacks for the kings servants, to ingratiate himself with them too!
and an animal-skin container of wine – that’s about 12 gallons of wine (NICOT) – “for him who is exhausted in the wilderness to drink”
Tsiba wants David and everyone in his party to think, “Wow, what a great and generous nobleman this Tsiba is!” when actually it was his master’s food he was giving away while betraying his master!
Effectively, this was a bribe to get something in return. There is no such thing as a free lunch!
And notice, at the end of the conversation, Tsiba says, “I humbly bow” or “I have prostrated myself.” Think about that statement. Nobody else in the entirety of the books of Samuel ever said such a thing. They always just threw themselves on the ground at the king’s feet without calling any more attention to themselves than that. I think that Tsiba’s saying it out loud is calling more attention to his bow than is normal.
This is all to butter David up in order to hoodwink David.
And once he does that, he says, “I humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight.” John Gill commented on the implications of that statement: After Tsiba got this favor from David, he talks of getting more favors in the future. “[H]e seems not to be sufficiently thankful for it, and satisfied with it, but craved more and other favours, when opportunity should serve.”
Tsiba’s deceit
David asks him about his master’s son (ESV sensibly adds a generation with his master’s “grandson”). The master could be Saul or Jonathan, though.
Why didn’t David say “Mephibosheth” or “your master”?
Perhaps because Mephibosheth did not fill the role of master very well. Mephibosheth doesn’t seem to have made much of himself in David’s palace.
Perhaps also David recognized Tsiba’s discontent with being a servant. Notice that Tsiba never calls himself David’s servant, even though that was the normal way to address a king, (Mephiboseth and even Ziba himself referred to themselves as “your servant” back in chapter nine, and Absalom and Jonadab referred to themselves before David as “your servant” in chapter 13, and likewise Joab in chapter 14.) but Tsiba isn’t here to serve David this time. Anyway, David may be gently reminding him to be faithful in his service to Mephibosheth and the house of Saul.
Mephibosheth, however, instead of serving his master, throws his master under the bus. He tells David that Mephibosheth stayed in Jerusalem in hopes of being made king.
Now, the liklihood of Absalom handing over the kingdom to Mephibosheth is zero2, so did Mephibosheth actually think that? It’s hard to imagine that he did, and later in chapter 19, he denies that he did, claiming that Tsiba tricked him.
The fact that David accepts Tsiba’s word, however, and does not say, “Whoah, Tsiba, I know Mephibosheth. He has eaten at my table for years, and he would never say such a thing. I don’t believe you.” - that does not speak well for Mephibosheth’s reputation.
I can’t help but suspect that Mephibosheth must have demonstrated such foolishness in David’s court over the years that David found it believable for Mephibosheth to have said such a ridiculous thing. And so, even though David seems to have made a misguided decision based on deceptive words from Tsiba, I still think that in some respects, justice was served to Mephibosheth in losing his inheritance to his servant.
All the same, as the saying goes, “God gave you two ears, that you may hear both sides.” We need to be careful not to act after hearing only one side of an issue.
For instance, as we head into an election week, we can’t believe everything one candidate says about another. We have to see what the other candidate has to say and then make our judgment after comparing what both candidates say.
At any rate, David’s response to Tsiba is: “All that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you.”
This is exactly what Tsiba seems to have wanted. He wants to be the nobleman who owns Saul’s property, not the servant who merely manages it.
And he wants to get out from under the frustration of having to carry out the whims of a foolish lord.
As for Mephibosheth, even if he lost all of Saul’s property, he still had the promise of a place in the king’s palace where all his needs would be met.
David must have thought, what an ungrateful wretch Mephibosheth was
to turn against David when Absalom usurped him as king, after all the kindness that David had done for him,
and what a fool Mephibosheth was to oppose the kingship of the Lord’s anointed.
David must have thought it would serve Mephiboseth right to have all of Saul’s property removed from his posession and Tsiba made a rival lord – no longer subject to him, leaving Mephiboseth dependent on Absalom’s patronage and utterly unable to win the respect of the leaders of Israel because he had nothing of his own.
The business with Tsiba completed, David continues on down toward the Jordan River valley, but before he gets there, he is confronted by a crazy man in the Judean hills named...
Background on Shimei
We don’t know much about Shimei’s background, other than that he was related to Saul and that he lived in a very small community between Jerusalem and Jericho.
Shimei appears to be a bit off-his-rocker because there he is all alone, throwing rocks and yelling insults at 600 experienced soldiers, including guys like Adino the Eznite who had singlehandedly killed 800 men at one time (2Sam. 23:8), and Shimei wouldn’t quit.
Shimei’s actions appear to me to be driven by anger, which has a way of getting out of control and leading us to do stupid things. Shimei’s rant against David was asking for trouble and, if David were a less-humble man, Shimei could have gotten himself killed real quick.
God’s word tells us to be very careful concerning what we say about those in authority.
Exodus 22:28 “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”
And the Apostle Paul affirmed the ongoing validity of that law in Acts 23:5, after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
In the Levitical law, it was a crime worthy of death to blaspheme God (Lev. 24:16).
And in the New Testament, we are repeatedly commanded along these lines:
Titus 3:1-2 “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one…” (NKJV)
James 4:11a “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren…” (NKJV)
In 2 Peter 2:10, it is the “unjust” who “despise authorities” and “speak evil” of them
And in Jude 1, it is the “ungodly” who “despise authority” and “speak evil” of them.
So, unless God told Shimei to say what he said (and the larger story does not support that God had indeed done so), Shimei was acting in an ungodly, evil way toward David.
Shimei’s accusations centered around David being a murderer
He called David a “man of bloodshed”
Perhaps Shimei knew of David’s command to expose Uriah so that he would be killed,
but I think more likely, he blamed David for the assasinations of Abner and Ish-bosheth, and even of Saul himself, for he was from Saul’s family.
His statement in v.8 “Yahweh has caused to return upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul” is a bit ambiguous, but I think he is blaming David for all the deaths in the house of Saul simply because he had become king after Saul.
Now, if you’ve driven in Kansas from Manhattan to Council Grove in the last couple of years, you’ve seen that phenomenon played out in contemporary politics, where there is a signboard blaming former President Donald Trump for the deaths of a quarter of a million persons and rejoicing in him losing reelection as President. I imagine that the owner of that sign may have been thinking a bit like Shimei.
David, however, had been very careful about blood-guilt in his reign.
To the man who claimed to have killed Saul, David had said, "Your bloodshed is upon your head, for your mouth replied concerning yourself, saying, 'I myself killed Yahweh's anointed one!'" (2 Sam. 1:16, NAW)
The war between Saul’s house and David’s house that ensued was carried on entirely by Joab and Abner. David did not enter that fight.
And when David heard that Joab had assasinated Abner, David had said, "I and my administration are innocent before Yahweh for ever of the murder of Abner son of Ner; it shall boomerang onto the head of Joab...” (2 Sam. 3:28-29, NAW)
And when the chamberlains chopped off Ishbosheth’s head and brought it to David, David put them to death, explaining that it was only just to require their blood in payment for their own guilt of murder (2 Sam. 4:11).
Saul, meanwhile had his own undealt-with blood-guilt which will come up later in chapter 21, when God reveals that a famine is due to Saul’s unjust massacre of the Gibeonites.
David committed significant sins, but Shimei is exaggerating David’s faults as though those sins were all there was to David.
Shimei continued, saying that, now that Absalom had become king after David, it was just to be expected that David and others of his family would be killed off, like so many in Saul’s family had been killed off.
Shimei, however, neglected to mention that it was mostly the work of Philistines in battle that so many in Saul’s family had died, but, all the same, Shimei’s dire statements would put psychological pressure on David to worry that this is just the way royal dynasties change over – with lots of bloodshed, so David should resign himself and his family to a bloody death rather than hoping for anything better.
Seeing the combination of crazy actions and diabolical speech, I can’t help but wonder if Shimei was demonically influenced.
He also calls David a Son of Belial/worthless fellow/ ungodly / scoundrel
This is what the corrupt priestly sons of Eli were (1 Sam. 2:12),
and what Nabal was (1 Sam. 25:17),
also Bichri, the traitor who split Israel away from Judah in 2 Sam. 20:1,
and the false witnesses who got Naboth killed in 1 Kings 21:13.
But, desipite having done things as bad as those men had done, David was not of that character, because he responded in repentance when he was called down for his sin, he asked God’s forgiveness, and he didn’t continue on unrepentently in those corrupt practices; he was a godly man, not an ungodly, worthless son of Belial.
These accusations are the words of a false accuser, the kind of false accusations the Devil specializes in. When you hear these kind of false accusations in your head or coming out of the mouth of someone else, don’t spiral into despair. Despair is what the Devil wants you to do. Instead, recognize that you are in a spiritual battle, and respond with trust in Jesus to resist the devil and interrupt whatever it is the Devil is trying to do.
Shimei ends saying, literally, “And behold you, in your evils, for you are a man of bloods.”
Some versions add a verb (not in the Hebrew), such as “taken/ruined in your evil.”
It reminds me of the testimony of a guy in the church were I grew up, who chased a woman on his motorcycle all the way to her house in downtown Birmingham, and when he got to her door, she shot him in the stomach. He said that the last thing he remembered before going unconscious was that he was lying on the sidewalk in a pool of his own blood, trying to get up, but unable to, and the woman was pointing at him in disgust and saying, “Just look at yourself! Just look at yourself!”
So, Shimei yells, “Go away” at the king he hates, and King David shuffles away from his capitol city into exile.
Our account records two different responses to Shimei’s tirade: one from Abishai and one from David.
First was Abishai’s hotheaded response: “Let me remove that dead dog’s head!”
This is consistent with other hot-headed things Abishai had done.
He was the one who was first to volunteer to go with David into King Saul’s camp (1 Sam. 26:6), and, when they found Saul asleep and unguarded, he was the one who wanted to kill Saul right then and there (1 Sam. 26:8).
He also had participated with his brother Joab in the revenge-killing of Abner (2 Sam. 3:30).
When someone is doing something that irritates us, it is easy to fly off-the-handle with harsh words or even violence.
When you’ve been waiting for a break to pass a slow truck in front of you and then the person behind you zooms into the left lane to pass you before you can get into the lane yourself, do you ever want to honk at them (or something) for their rudeness?
Irritation can can get to the best of us. In Luke 9:54, Jesus’ disciples asked to spend the night at a village in Samaria, but the residents wouldn’t let them. So James and John (the sons of thunder) said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" Well, their circumstances were not quite the same as Elijah’s. The fire that came down from heaven at his command was protecting him from a band of soldiers that were trying to kill him. James and John had merely been told they couldn’t stay at a hotel and would have to walk a few more miles to the next one. Jesus said we need to watch what spirit is influencing us.
David, on the other hand, demonstrates a wise response which expresses trust in God’s sovereignty.
First, he calls Abishai down, saying, “What have I to do with y’all3, sons of Tseruiah?” (Tseruiah was David’s sister.) “What do I have in common with y’all?”
This is a figure of speech in Hebrew which occurs 7 other times in the Bible to indicate that the two parties should not be interacting with each other.
I think it just means that David could defend himself without the help of his nephews, and that David didn’t need his nephews for counsel either. They had positions in the Army (1 Chron. 18:12, 2 Sam. 10:10), and they shouldn’t presume to do more for David than be good soldiers.
It also shows some character development in David to call down his nephews rather than letting them do whatever they wanted, like David had allowed earlier in his reign. (Jamieson)
Then David says, “Let him curse, for Yahweh Himself said to him, ‘Curse David,’ so who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’ Perhaps Yahweh will pay regard to my {depression}, and return good to me instead of His curse this day.”
David gives Shimei the benefit of the doubt and assumes that God has told Shimei to curse him.
Later we will find that this assumption was wrong and that Shimei was not a prophet after all. But for now, David decides to think the best of a man who is using the name of the Lord and whose words seem to be fitting to David’s sin and circumstances of chastisement.
David is trying to interpret this irritating situation in light of his belief in the sovereign, personal God of the Bible. “If God is in charge of what is happening, how should I respond?”
And he decides that the best course of action is not to strike back at this guy for mouthing off. Shimei isn’t really hurting anybody, and his words seem consistent with the humiliation that David believes it is appropriate for him to feel at this moment.
“David was guiltless of the crime of which Shimei accused him; but his conscience reminded him of other flagrant iniquities; and he, therefore, regarded the cursing of this man as a chastisement from heaven.” ~Robert Jamieson, 1871 A.D.
“A humble tender spirit will turn reproaches into reproofs, and so get good by them, instead of being provoked by them… ‘If God bid Shimei grieve me, it is that he himself may the more sensibly comfort me; surely he has mercy in store for me, which he is preparing me for by this trial.’” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 A.D.
David knows that God is merciful and and kind, so he has reason to believe that, as he walks with God through this hard time, God will bring good out of it. God’s character assures us that, no matter what is wrong, those who trust in God’s salvation will not be cast away.
We have many other scriptural examples of God’s people interpreting negative circumstances in light of the sovereignty of God who is both loving and just.
In Gen. 45:5, Joseph said, "[Don’t] be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life... You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good!”
Job 9:12 “If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, `What are You doing?’ … 13:15 ‘Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him…’ Job 40:4b ‘...Let me put my hand over my mouth!’”
Then there’s Jeremiah, who wrote in Lam. 3:39 “Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?”
That’s kind-of like the thief on the cross in Luke 23:40-42, who said, “Aren’t you afraid of God? … Look, we are suffering because we deserve it… but Lord, will you nevertheless remember me when you enter your kingdom?”
In the book of Samuel we have the example of Hannah who was ridiculed by her husband’s other wife for being unable to have a child and who intimated that God was being mean to Hannah. What did Hannah do? Catfight? No, she kept praying and said, “Yahweh of Hosts, if you will really look into the deprivation of your maid and remember me and not forget your maid and give to your maid a male descendant, then I will give him to You until the day of his death…” (1 Sam. 1:11, NAW) And so we get Samuel!
Then there’s more examples of David, such as when King Saul had him cornered and David humbly sought to get right with God and with his persecutor, boldly trusting in the sovereignty of God to bring about justice, saying, “If it is Yahweh who incited you against me, let Him smell a grain-offering, but if it is the sons of men, they are cursed before the face of Yahweh, for they have expelled me today from partnership within the inheritance of Yahweh...” (1 Sam. 26:19, NAW)
And the Psalms of David like
Psalm 25:18 “Look at my low-condition
and my trouble, and lift away all my sins.” (NAW) Affliction
for him was not the trigger to rage against the system but rather
the trigger for him to ask forgiveness for his sins.
Also
Psalm
62:4-12
“They
delight in lies; They bless with their mouth, But they curse
inwardly... My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my
expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He
is my defense... Trust in Him at all times, you people... power
belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy..” (NKJV)
Then there’s Paul in the New Testament, who suffered shipwrecks, wrongful imprisonment, death threats, and all sorts of other hardships. What did he say in Romans 9:20? “...indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ and in Romans 8:28, “We know that He works all things together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God has a purpose, so we need to reign-in our impetuous pride and our angry revenge, and let Him work out His good plan. We can trust that it will turn out good.
The challenging thing is that accepting God’s sovereignty in chastisement means enduring the hardship.
David had to put up with the irritation of dust being flung down at him and stones smacking him occasionally from the side as he walked mile after mile.
He had to resist the urge to lash out at this irritating man Shimei, and it meant being more tired when he got to his destination, which was probably the West bank of the Jordan River.
but they eventually got there and got some refreshment. The Hebrew word for “refreshed” is a special term only used of Sabbath rest, so perhaps the next day was the Sabbath, forcing Absalom’s forces to pause in their takeover of the administration and giving David a day to breathe. Praise God for giving us the margin to refresh on the Lord’s Day!
There we will leave David for now, but remember the lessons learned from Tsiba:
When someone gives you a free gift and then asks you for something, be very cautious.
Be careful not to act until you’ve heard both sides of an issue.
And from Shimei
Don’t allow anger to take over your words. “Don’t blaspheme God, nor curse a ruler of your people.”
And don’t be surprised if someone falsely accuses you.
Recognize that you are in a spiritual battle, and respond with trust in Jesus to resist the devil when he reminds you of your past sins.
In irritating situations, ask yourself, “If God is in charge of what is happening, how should I respond?”
“Turn reproaches into reproofs, and so get good by them, instead of being provoked”
Remember that God is merciful and and kind, and will work all things together for good.
Let affliction lead you to ask forgiveness for your sins rather than rage against the system.
Reign-in impetuous pride and angry revenge, and let God work out His good plan
Accept God’s sovereignty in chastisement by enduring hardship “like a good soldier.”
Psalm 109:1-5 A Psalm of David. Do not keep silent, O God of my praise! For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful Have opened against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They have also surrounded me with words of hatred, And fought against me without a cause. In return for my love they are my accusers, But I give myself to prayer. Thus they have rewarded me evil for good, And hatred for my love… 21 But You, O GOD the Lord, Deal with me for Your name's sake; Because Your mercy is good, deliver me. For I am poor and needy, And my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens; I am shaken off like a locust. My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, That they may know that this is Your hand—That You, LORD, have done it! Let them curse, but You bless; When they arise, let them be ashamed, But let Your servant rejoice. Let my accusers be clothed with shame, And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle. I will greatly praise the LORD with my mouth; Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude. For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor, To save him from those who condemn him.” (NKJV)
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1 καὶ Δαυιδ παρῆλθεν βραχύ τι ἀπὸ τῆς Ροως, καὶ ἰδοὺ Σιβα τὸ παιδάριον Μεμφιβοσθε εἰς ἀπαντὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ζεῦγος ὄνων ἐπισεσαγμένων, καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς διακόσιοι ἄρτοι καὶ ἑκατὸν σταφίδες καὶ ἑκατὸν φοίνικες καὶ νεβελ οἴνου. |
1 And David passed on a little way from RosB; and, behold, Siba the servant of Memphibosthe [came] to meet him; and [he had] a couple of asses laden, and upon them two hundred loaves, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred cakes of dates, and bottle of wine. |
1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold Siba the servant of Miphiboseth [came] to meet him with two asses, laden with two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs, and a vessel of wine. |
1 And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. |
1 Now, when David had passed over a bit from the summit, there was Tsiba, servant of Mephibosheth, to greet him, along with a pair of donkeys roped together, and upon them, 200 bread-loaves, and 100 raisin-cakes, and 100 date-cakes, and a container of wine. |
1 וְדָוִד עָבַר מְעַט מֵהָרֹאשׁ וְהִנֵּה צִיבָא נַעַר מְפִי-בֹשֶׁת לִקְרָאתוֹ וְצֶמֶד חֲמֹרִים חֲבֻשִׁים וַעֲלֵיהֶם מָאתַיִם לֶחֶם וּמֵאָה צִמּוּקִים וּמֵאָהC קַיִץD וְנֵבֶל יָיִן: |
2 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Σιβα Τί ταῦτά σοι; καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα Τὰ ὑποζύγια τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ ἐπικαθῆσθαι, καὶ οἱ ἄρτοι καὶ οἱ φοίνικες εἰς βρῶσιν τοῖς παιδαρίοις, καὶ ὁ οἶνος πιεῖν τοῖς ἐκλελυμένοις ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ. |
2
And the king said to Siba, What [meanest]
thou by these? and Siba, said, The asses are for the household of
the king to |
2
And the king said to Siba: What X
|
2
And the king said unto Ziba, What [meanest]
thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be
for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and
summer fruit
for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in
the wilderness |
2 So the king said to Tsiba, “What are these you have?” And Tsiba said, “The donkeys are for the household of the King to ride, and {} the bread and the date-cakes are for his servants to eat, and the wine is for him who is exhausted in the wilderness to drink.” |
2 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶל- צִיבָא מָה- אֵלֶּה לָּךְ וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא הַחֲמוֹרִים לְבֵית-הַמֶּלֶךְ לִרְכֹּב וְלְהַלֶּחֶםE וְהַקַּיִץ לֶאֱכוֹל הַנְּעָרִים וְהַיַּיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת הַיָּעֵף בַּמִּדְבָּר: |
3 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς Καὶ ποῦ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ κυρίου σου; καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰδοὺ κάθηται ἐν Ιερουσαλημ, ὅτι εἶπεν Σήμερον ἐπιστρέψουσίνF μοι ὁ οἶκος Ισραηλ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ πατρός μου. |
3 And the king said, And where is the son of thy master? and Siba said to the king, Behold, he remains in Jerusalem; for he said, To-day shall the house of Israel restore to me the kingdom of my father. |
3 And the king said: X Where is thy master's son? And Siba answered the king: X He remained in Jerusalem, X saying: To day, will the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. |
3 And the king said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he abideth at Jerusalem: for he said, To day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father. |
3 Then the king said, “And where is the son of your master?” And Tsiba said to the king, “See, he is residing in Jerusalem because he said, ‘Today the {sons} of Israel will return to me the kingdom of my father!’” |
3 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאַיֵּה בֶּן-אֲדֹנֶיךָ וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ הִנֵּה יוֹשֵׁב בִּירוּשָׁלִַם כִּי אָמַר הַיּוֹם יָשִׁיבוּ לִי בֵּיתG יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵת מַמְלְכוּת אָבִי: |
4
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
βασιλεὺς τῷ
Σιβα Ιδοὺ σοὶ
πάντα, ὅσα ἐστὶν
τῷ Μεμφιβοσθε.
καὶ εἶπεν Σιβα
προσκυνή |
4 And the king said to Siba, Behold, all Memphibosthe's property is thine. And Siba did obeisance [and] said, My lord, O king, let me find grace in thine eyes. |
4
And the king said to Siba: I give thee all that belonged to
Miphiboseth. And Siba said: I |
4
Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are
all that pertained
unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, I [humbly]
|
4 Then the king said to Tsiba, “All that belonged to Mephibosheth now belongs to you!” And Tsiba said, “I have bowed down; let me find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.” |
4 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ לְצִבָא הִנֵּה לְךָ כֹּל אֲשֶׁר לִמְפִי- בֹשֶׁת וַיֹּאמֶר צִיבָא הִשְׁתַּחֲוֵיתִי אֶמְצָא-חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ: |
5 καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαυιδ ἕως Βαουριμ· καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ ἐξεπορεύετο ἐκ συγγενείας οἴκου Σαουλ, καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Σεμεϊ υἱὸς Γηρα· ἐξῆλθεν ἐκπορευόμενος καὶ καταρώμενος |
5 And king David came to Baurim; and, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Semei the son of Gera. He came forth and cursed as he went, |
5 And king David came as far as Bahurim: and behold there came out from thence a man of the kindred of the house of Saul X X named Semei, the son of Gera, and coming out he cursed as he went on, |
5 And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, X whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came. |
5 Presently, King David arrived at Bahurim, and there was a man from there - from the family of the house of Saul, who came forth, and his name was Shimei, son of Gera. He kept coming out and cursing. |
5 וּבָא הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד עַד- בַּחוּרִים וְהִנֵּה מִשָּׁם אִישׁ יוֹצֵא מִמִּשְׁפַּחַת בֵּית-שָׁאוּל וּשְׁמוֹ שִׁמְעִי בֶן-גֵּרָא יֹצֵא יָצוֹא וּמְקַלֵּל: |
6 καὶ λιθάζων ἐν λίθοις τὸν Δαυιδ καὶ πάντας τοὺς παῖδας τοῦ βασιλέως Δαυιδ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἦν καὶ πάντες οἱ δυνατοὶ ἐκ δεξιῶν X καὶ ἐξ εὐωνύμων X [τοῦ βασιλέως]. |
6
and cast stones X
X at
David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people
and all the mighty men were on |
6
And he threw stones X
X at
David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people,
and all the warriors [walked]
on
|
6 And he cast stones X X at David, and at all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were on his right hand and on his left. |
6 And he took potshots at David, and at all the servants of King David and all the people and all the mighty men at his right and at his left, with rocks. |
6 וַיְסַקֵּלH בָּאֲבָנִים אֶת- דָּוִד וְאֶת-כָּל- עַבְדֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד וְכָל-הָעָם וְכָל-הַגִּבֹּרִים מִימִינוֹ וּמִשְּׂמֹאלוֹI: |
7 καὶ οὕτως ἔλεγεν Σεμεϊ ἐν τῷ καταρᾶσθαι αὐτόν Ἔξελθε ἔξελθε, ἀνὴρ αἱμάτων καὶ ἀνὴρ ὁ παράνομος· |
7
And thus Semei said when he cursed him, Go out, go out, thou
bloody man, and man of |
7 And thus said Semei when he cursed [the king]: Come out, come out, thou man of blood, and thou man of Belial. |
7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: |
7 And in his cursing, Shimei said this: “Go away, go away, man of bloodshed and man of ungodliness! |
7 וְכֹה-אָמַר שִׁמְעִי בְּקַלְלוֹ צֵא צֵא אִישׁ הַדָּמִיםJ וְאִישׁ הַבְּלִיָּעַלK: |
8 ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ σὲ κύριος πάντα τὰ αἵματα τοῦ οἴκου Σαουλ, ὅτι ἐβασίλευσας ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔδωκεν κύριος τὴν βασιλείαν ἐν χειρὶ Αβεσσαλωμ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου· καὶ ἰδοὺ σὺ ἐν τῇ κακίᾳ σου, ὅτι ἀνὴρ αἱμάτων σύ. |
8 The Lord has returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, because thou hast reigned in his stead; and the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of Abessalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischiefX, because thou art a bloody man. |
8 The Lord hath repaid X thee [for] all the blood of the house of Saul: because thou hast usurped the kingdom in his stead, and the Lord hath given the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and behold X thy evils [press upon] thee, because thou art a man of blood. |
8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, X in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischiefX, because thou art a bloody man. |
8 Yahweh has caused to return upon you all the bloodshed of the house of Saul, because you became king after him. Then Yahweh has given the kingdom into the control of Absalom your son! Now, look at you in your bad-times, for you are a man of bloodshed!” |
8 הֵשִׁיב עָלֶיךָ יְהוָה כֹּל דְּמֵי בֵית- שָׁאוּל אֲשֶׁר מָלַכְתָּ תַּחְתּוֹL וַיִּתֵּן יְהוָה אֶת-הַמְּלוּכָה בְּיַד אַבְשָׁלוֹם בְּנֶךָ וְהִנְּךָ בְּרָעָתֶךָ כִּי אִישׁ דָּמִים אָתָּה: |
9 καὶ εἶπεν Αβεσσα υἱὸς Σαρουιας πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἵνα τί καταρᾶται ὁ κύων ὁ τεθνηκὼς οὗτος τὸν κύριόν μου τὸν βασιλέα; διαβήσομαι δὴ καὶ ἀφελῶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ. |
9 And Abessa the son of Saruia said to the king, Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over now and take off his head. |
9 And Abisai the son of Sarvia said to the king: Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? X I will go, and cut off his head. |
9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. |
9 Then Abishai, son of Tseruiah, said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my master the king? Please let me go over and remove his head!” |
9 וַיֹּאמֶר אֲבִישַׁי בֶּן- צְרוּיָה אֶל- הַמֶּלֶךְ לָמָּה יְקַלֵּל הַכֶּלֶב הַמֵּת הַזֶּה אֶת- אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶעְבְּרָה-נָּא וְאָסִירָהM אֶת-רֹאשׁוֹ: ס |
10
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ
βασιλεύς Τί
ἐμοὶ καὶ ὑμῖν,
υἱοὶ Σαρουιας;
[ἄφετε
αὐτὸν
καὶ]
|
10
And the king said, What have I to |
10
And the king said: What have I to |
10
And the king said, What have I to |
10 But the king said, “What do I have in common with y’all, sons of Tseruiah? {Leave him be;} so let him curse, {} for Yahweh Himself said to him, ‘Curse David,’ and who should say, ‘Why did you do so?’” |
10 וַיֹּאמֶר הַמֶּלֶךְ מַה-לִּי וְלָכֶםN בְּנֵי צְרֻיָה כִּיO יְקַלֵּל וְכִיP יְהוָה אָמַר לוֹ קַלֵּל אֶת-דָּוִד וּמִי יֹאמַר מַדּוּעַ עָשִׂיתָה כֵּן: ס |
11
καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ
πρὸς Αβεσσα
καὶ πρὸς πάντας
τοὺς παῖδας
αὐτοῦ Ἰδοὺ
ὁ υἱός μου ὁ
ἐξελθὼν ἐκ τῆς
κοιλίας
μου ζητεῖ τὴν
ψυχήν μου, καὶ
προσέτι νῦν ὁ
υἱὸς τοῦ Ιεμινι·
ἄφετε αὐτὸν
X
καταρᾶσ |
11 And David said to Abessa and to all his servants, Behold, my son who came forth out of my bowels seeks my life; still more now may the son of BenjaminX: let him X curse, because the Lord has told X him. |
11
And |
11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: X how much more now may this X BenjamiteX do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. |
11 David also said to Abishai and to all of his servants, “Look, my son who came out from my inner parts is trying to take my life, and now, in addition, there’s this son of the Benjamites. Give him a break, and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. |
11 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל- אֲבִישַׁי וְאֶל- כָּל-עֲבָדָיו הִנֵּה בְנִי אֲשֶׁר- יָצָא מִמֵּעַיQ מְבַקֵּשׁ אֶת- נַפְשִׁי וְאַף כִּי- עַתָּה בֶּן- הַיְמִינִי הַנִּחוּ לוֹ וִיקַלֵּל כִּי אָמַר-לוֹ יְהוָה: |
12 εἴ πως ἴδοι κύριος ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει μου καὶ ἐπιστρέψει μοι X ἀγαθὰ ἀντὶ τῆς κατάρας αὐτοῦ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ. |
12
If by any means the Lord may look on
my affliction,
thus shall |
12
Perhaps the Lord may look |
12 It may be that the LORD will look on mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this day. |
12 Perhaps Yahweh will pay regard to my {depression}, and {} return good to me instead of His curse this day.” |
12 אוּלַי יִרְאֶה יְהוָה בְּעוֹנִיR וְהֵשִׁיב יְהוָהS לִי טוֹבָה תַּחַת קִלְלָתוֹT הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה: |
13 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Δαυιδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, καὶ Σεμεϊ ἐπορεύετο ἐκ πλευρᾶς τοῦ ὄρους ἐχόμενα αὐτοῦ πορευόμενος καὶ καταρώμενος καὶ λιθάζων ἐν λίθοις ἐκ πλαγίων αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ χοὶ πάσσων. |
13 And David and [allU] the men [with] him went on the way: and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting X X stones at X him, and sprinkling him with dirt. |
13 And David and his men [with him] went by the way. And Semei by the hill's side went over against him, X cursing, and casting X X stones at X him, and scattering X earth. |
13 And as David and his men went by the way, X Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw X X stones at X him, and cast X X dust. |
13 So David walked on, along with his men, down the road. Shimei also kept walking along the ridge of the slope at his side, and he cursed and took potshots with stones at his side and dusted them with dust. |
13 וַיֵּלֶךְ דָּוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו בַּדָּרֶךְ ס וְשִׁמְעִי הֹלֵךְ בְּצֵלַע הָהָר לְעֻמָּתוֹ הָלוֹךְ וַיְקַלֵּל וַיְסַקֵּל בָּאֲבָנִים לְעֻמָּתוֹ וְעִפַּרV בֶּעָפָר: פ |
14
καὶ ἦλθεν ὁ
βασιλεὺς καὶ
πᾶς ὁ λαὸς αὐτοῦ
X
ἐκλελυμένοι
X
καὶ ἀνέψυξ |
14 And the king, and all the people X with him, came away X and refreshed themsel[ves] there. |
14 And the king and all the people X with him came weary, and refreshed themsel[ves] there. |
14 And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themsel[ves] there. |
14 Thus the king (and all his people {} with him) arrived at Ayephim, and they found refreshment there. |
14 וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל- הָעָם אֲשֶׁרW- אִתּוֹ עֲיֵפִיםX וַיִּנָּפֵשׁY שָׁם: |
1Keil & Delitzsch weighed in favor of “dates,” against “figs.”
2Among the commentaries I read, Robert Jamieson was alone in considering it “plausible.”
3The same phrase occurs again in 19:23 also referring to the sons of Tseruiah.
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing 2 Samuel 16 is 4Q51 Samuela containing
parts of verses 1-22, dated between 50-25 B.C.. Where the DSS is
legible and in agreement with the MT, the MT is colored purple.
Where the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text
not in the MT, I have highlighted
with yellow the LXX
and its translation into English, and where I have accepted that
into my NAW translation, I have marked it with {pointed brackets}.
BThe LXX transliterated the Hebrew word as a proper noun “Rosh” instead of translating it “head/κεφαλη.”
CInstead of the number 100, the DSS reads hpya “an ephah” which is about equivalent to a bushel. This need not be contradictory to the MT, as there are fruits, 100 of which would fill a bushel, and it might give some clue as to what these fruits were.
DCompare
to Abigail’s provisions in 1 Samuel 25:18. Instead of Ziba’s
Qeitz, Abigail provided דְּבֵלִים
“fig-cakes,” as did the witch of Endor in
1 Sam. 30:12 and the Israelites at David’s coronation in 1
Chron. 12:41.
The word for “summer fruit” is the
same as the word for “summer” in Hebrew, but as a fruit,
it is only mentioned in three other passages: Isaiah 16:9
(“Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer, the vine of
Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh; For over
your harvest-time and your harvest-crop the shout has fallen
off. ~NAW)
Jeremiah 40:10-12 ("As for me, I will
indeed dwell at Mizpah and serve the Chaldeans who come to us. But
you, gather wine and summer fruit and oil, put them in your
vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken." ~NKJV)
and 48:32c (“...The plunderer has fallen on your summer
fruit and your vintage.” ~NKJV),
and Amos 8:1
(“Thus the Lord GOD showed me: Behold, a basket of summer
fruit.” ~NKJV, and there is some connection between Amos
and sycamore-figs שׁקמים
in 7:14.)
Keil & Delitzsch followed the
Septuagint in thinking them most probably to be dates, but Lange
followed the Vulgate in figuring they were figs, and Goldman was
also of that opinion.
EThe Qere removes the superfluous lamed preposition (“to”), correcting the the MT to וְהַלֶּחֶם, which is also the reading of the LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Syriac.
FThe LXX passed on the same gramar discrepancy of a plural verb with a singular subject which is in the MT.
GThe MT verb is plural “they will return,” but the MT subject “house” is singular. The LXX, Vulgate, and Targums carry over that discrepancy, but there are a couple of Hebrew manuscripts (followed by the Syriac and a few Greek manuscripts) which change one Hebrew letter in the subject, changing the meaning from singular “house” (בית) to plural “sons,” which isn’t really a change in meaning, however. The DSS is too obliterated at this point for comparison.
HThe only other place in the Bible that this verb occurs in the Piel stem, as here, is Isa. 5:2 & 62:10, where it means “removed stones.”
ILXX and Vulgate read as though the Hebrew were מִימִינ וּמִשְּׂמֹאל הַמֶּלֶךְ, but the DSS, Targums, and Syriac do not support this. The meaning “at the right and at the left of the king” is the same, however.
Jcf. Psalm 5:6b “...a man of bloodshed and deceit Yahweh will abhor.” and 26:9 “ Don't gather my soul with sinners or my life with men of bloodshed!” (NAW)
Kcf.
other uses of “Belial” in Samuel and Psalms:
1
Sam. 2:12 “The sons of Eli, however, were ungodly
characters; they did not know Yahweh.”
1
Sam. 10:27 “Nevertheless some ungodly
characters said, ‘How is this guy going to save us?’ And
they despised [him]…”
1 Sam. 25:17 “...this
evil will be the end of our master and of his household, but he is
too ungodly a character to speak…”
1 Sam.
25:25 “Please don't let my master set his heart against this
ungodly man Nabal, for as his name means, so is he…”
1
Sam. 30:22 “But all the guys who were evil and ungodly
among the men who had gone with David reacted…”
Ps.
43:1 “Adjudicate for me, God, and argue my case please against
an ungodly nation…” (NAW)
LQere corrects to תַּחְתָּיו, but it makes no difference in the meaning.
Mcf. the “removal” of Ish-Bosheth’s head in 2 Samuel 4:7.
NThis figure of speech indicates that the parties should not be interacting. Other instances in the Bible are: Jdg. 11:12; 2 Sam. 19:23; 1 Ki. 17:18; 2 Ki. 3:13; 2 Chr. 35:21; Isa. 52:5; and Hos. 14:9.
OLXX, Vulgate, and Syriac insert “leave him be.” Here, the Qere substitutes כי (“for/because/if”), for כֹּה ("thus/so"), which is also the reading of the LXX and Targums. Syriac does not support the MT either. DSS is too obliterated for comparison.
PQere suggests omitting the conjunction, and the LXX, Vulgate, Targums, and Syriac did omit the conjunction. DSS is too obliterated for comparison. K&D commented: “This interpolation is taken from 2 Sam. 16:11, and, like the Keri, is nothing more than a conjecture, which was adopted simply because כִּי was taken as a causal particle, and then offence was taken at וְכִי. But כִּי signifies if, quando, in this passage, and the ו before the following וּמִי introduces the apodosis.”
Qcf. “a son will come out from your inner parts” 2 Samuel 7:12
RQere suggests instead בְּעֵינִי ("in my eye" – followed by the AJV and NICOT), which would involve removing the stem of the letter vav in the middle of the word, and which is similar to the Targums ("my fountain of tears" – followed by Rashi and R. Isaiah), but other Hebrew manuscripts and rabbinical commentaries suggest that the vav could be changed to a yod at the end, changing the meaning from "in my iniquity" to "in my lowliness," and with this, the LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, KJV, NASB, and NIV agree. (K&D in their commentary apparently were not aware of this Hebrew variant and cavalierly rejected this possibility merely on the basis that ‘avon does not mean "misery.") The ESV went with the original MT "iniquity/wrong" but inserts "done to" which is not in the Hebrew.
SThe LXX omits “Yahweh,” as does the Syriac, and the spacing in this obliterated section of the DSS favors dropping a word from the MT. “Yahweh” however, would be understood as the subject even if it were not explicitly stated, since He is the subject of the previous clause, so there is no differnce in meaning.
TSome Hebrew manuscripts as well as the Syriac apparently read “my curse” yt!llq, while the Vulgate omits the pronoun altogether (followed by the NIV), but the DSS supports the MT with the 3rd person m.s. pronoun. That leaves some ambiguity as to whether that pronoun refers to Yahweh or to Shimei, but I opt for the former, since He is the only third person in verse 12.
UThe Vaticanus inexplicably adds “all” here. The DSS is obliterated here, but has more space between legible sections of this verse than the wording of the MT allows, which could support the addition of the word “all” here.
VThis is the only occurance of this verb in the O.T.
WSyriac, LXX, and Vulgate all omit this relative pronoun. It doesn’t change the meaning, though.
XK&D advocated for this to be a proper noun, and that solves the grammar problem of it being a plural adjective, for there is no plural noun nearby for it to modify, and it stands inbetween two verbs that are singular in number. Goldman gave a tip of the hat in that direction, saying that if it was a proper noun, it would be appropriately-named for a resting-place, since it means “weary.”
YThis verb only occurs two other times in the Hebrew Bible, both in the context of sabbath rest: Exod. 23:12 & 31:17. The Syriac, LXX, and Vulgate all render this verb plural, although it is singular in the MT. It is obliterated in the DSS.