2 Samuel 14 · Verse 17

2 Samuel 14:17

Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.
2 Samuel 14:17, King James Version

2 Samuel 14:17 in other translations

BSBAnd now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
WEBThen your servant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king bring rest; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad. May the LORD, your God, be with you.’”
ASVThen thy handmaid said, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: and Jehovah thy God be with thee.
YLTand thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so is my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'
DARBYAnd thy bondmaid said, Let the word of my lord the king now be comfortable; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad; and Jehovah thy God will be with thee.
BBEThen your servant said, May the word of my lord the king give me peace! for my lord the king is as the angel of God in his hearing of good and bad: and may the Lord your God be with you!
WebsterThen thy handmaid said, The word of my lord the king, will now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.

What does 2 Samuel 14:17 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 14:2-21

2Sa 14:1-21. Joab Instructs a Woman of Tekoah. 2-21. And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman--The king was strongly attached to Absalom; and having now got over his sorrow for the violent death of Amnon, he was desirous of again enjoying the society of his favorite son, who had now been three long years absent. But a dread of public opinion and a regard to the public interests made him hesitate…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 14:2-21 →

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:1-20

We may notice here, how this widow pleads God's mercy, and his clemency toward poor guilty sinners. The state of sinners is a state of banishment from God. God pardons none to the dishonour of his law and justice, nor any who are impenitent; nor to the encouragement of crimes, or the hurt of others.

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 14:1-20 →

2 Samuel 14:17 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙va.To.merand she saidH559
שִׁפְחָ֣תְךָ֔shif.Cha.te.khamaidservant yourH8198
יִֽהְיֶה\־yih.yeh-may it becomeH1961
נָּ֛אna'pleaseH4994
דְּבַר\־de.var-[the] word ofH1697
אֲדֹנִ֥י'a.do.Nilord myH113
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לִמְנוּחָ֑הlim.nu.Chah<into> restH4496
כִּ֣י\׀kiforH3588
כְּמַלְאַ֣ךְke.mal.'Akhlike [the] angel ofH4397
הָאֱלֹהִ֗יםha.'E.lo.Him<the> GodH430
כֵּ֣ןken[is] soH3651
אֲדֹנִ֤י'a.do.Nilord myH113
הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
לִשְׁמֹ֙עַ֙lish.Mo.a'to hearH8085
הַטּ֣וֹבha.Tov<the> goodH2896
וְהָרָ֔עve.ha.Ra'and <the> badH7451
וַֽיהוָ֥הva.Yah.wehand YahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
יְהִ֥יye.Himay he beH1961
עִמָּֽךְ\׃\ \פ'i.Makhwith youH5973

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 2 Samuel 14:17

  • 1 Samuel 29:9

    And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.

  • 2 Samuel 19:27

    And 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.

  • 2 Samuel 14:20

    To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.

  • Hebrews 5:14

    But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

  • 1 Kings 3:9

    Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

  • Proverbs 29:5

    A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.

  • 1 Corinthians 2:14-15

    But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

  • Proverbs 27:21

    As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

  • Job 6:30

    Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

  • 1 Kings 3:28

    And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
comfortable. Heb. for rest. as an angel.This is very much like the hyperbolical language which is addressed by the Hindoos to an European when they desire to obtain something from him: "Saheb," say they, "can do every thing. No one can prevent the execution of Saheb's commands. Saheb is God." Though the expression may be imputed to the hyperbolical genius of these countries, yet there was, perhaps, more of real persuasion than we are apt to suppose. Sir John Chardin states, that having found fault with the king of Persia's valuation of a rich trinket, the grand master told him that if a Persian had dared to have done such a thing, it would have been as much as his life was worth. "Know," said he, "that the kings of Persia have a general and full knowledge of matters, as sure as it is extensive; and that, equally in the greatest and smallest things, there is nothing more just and sure than what they pronounce."
20; 19:27; 1Sa 29:9; Pr 27:21; 29:5
to discern. Heb. to hear.
1Ki 3:9,28; Job 6:30; 1Co 2:14,15; *marg:
Heb 5:14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 2 Samuel 14:16

    For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

  • 2 Samuel 14:17

    Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the Lord thy God will be with thee.

  • 2 Samuel 14:18

    Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Read all of 2 Samuel 14

2 Samuel 14:17 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tu sierva pues dice: Que sea ahora la respuesta de mi señor el rey para descanso; pues que mi señor el rey es como un ángel de Dios para escuchar lo bueno y lo malo. Así Jehová tu Dios sea contigo.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ta servante a dit: Que la parole du roi, mon seigneur, nous apporte du repos! car le roi, mon seigneur, est comme un ange de Dieu, pour entendre le bien et le mal; et l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, sera avec toi!
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und deine Magd dachte: Das Wort meines Herrn, des Königs, möge doch zur Beruhigung sein; denn wie ein Engel Gottes, also ist mein Herr, der König, um das Gute und das Böse anzuhören; und Jehova, dein Gott, sei mit dir!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dicat ergo ancilla tua, ut fiat verbum domini mei regis sicut sacrificium. Sicut enim angelus Dei, sic est dominus meus rex, ut nec benedictione, nec maledictione moveatur: unde et Dominus Deus tuus est tecum.