2 Samuel 17 · Verse 16

2 Samuel 17:16

Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
2 Samuel 17:16, King James Version

2 Samuel 17:16 in other translations

BSBNow send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”
WEBNow therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, ‘Don’t lodge tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people who are with him.’”
ASVNow therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
YLTand now, send hastily, and declare to David, saying, Lodge not to-night in the plains of the wilderness, and also, certainly pass over, lest there be a swallowing up of the king and of all the people who are with him.'
DARBYAnd now send quickly, and tell David saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
BBESo now send the news quickly to David, and say, Do not take your night's rest by the way across the river to the waste land, but be certain to go over; or the king and all the people with him will come to destruction.
WebsterNow therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

What does 2 Samuel 17:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
16. send quickly, and tell David--Apparently doubting that his advice would be followed, Hushai ordered secret intelligence to be conveyed to David of all that transpired, with an urgent recommendation to cross the Jordan without a moment's delay, lest Ahithophel's address and influence might produce a change on the prince's mind, and an immediate pursuit be determined on.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 2 Samuel 17:1-21

Here was a wonderful effect of Divine Providence blinding Absalom's mind and influencing his heart, that he could not rest in Ahithophel's counsel, and that he should desire Hushai's advice. But there is no contending with that God who can arm a man against himself, and destroy him by his own mistakes and passions. Ahithophel's former counsel was followed, for God intended to correct David; but his latter counsel…

Read the full comment on 2 Samuel 17:1-21 →

2 Samuel 17:16 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.

וְעַתָּ֡הve.'a.Tahand thereforeH6258
שִׁלְח֣וּshil.ChusendH7971
מְהֵרָה֩me.he.RahquicklyH4120
וְהַגִּ֨ידוּve.ha.Gi.duand tellH5046
לְדָוִ֜דle.da.Vidto DavidH1732
לֵאמֹ֗רle.Mor<to> sayingH559
אַל\־'al-may notH408
תָּ֤לֶןTa.lenyou pass [the] nightH3885
הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ha.Lay.lahthis nightH3915
בְּעַֽרְב֣וֹתbe.'ar.Votat [the] desert plains ofH6160
הַמִּדְבָּ֔רha.mid.Barthe wildernessH4057
וְגַ֖םve.Gamand alsoH1571
עָב֣וֹרa.Vorcertainly <to pass over>H5674
תַּעֲב֑וֹרta.'a.Voryou will pass overH5674
פֶּ֚ןpenlestH6435
יְבֻלַּ֣עye.vu.La'it should be swallowed upH1104
לַמֶּ֔לֶךְla.Me.lekhto the kingH4428
וּלְכָל\־u.le.khol-and to allH3605
הָעָ֖םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.SherwhichH834
אִתּֽוֹ\׃'i.To[is] with himH854

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

Cross references for 2 Samuel 17:16

  • 2 Samuel 15:28

    See, I will tarry in the plain of the wilderness, until there come word from you to certify me.

  • 1 Corinthians 15:54

    So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

  • 2 Corinthians 5:4

    For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

  • Psalms 57:3

    He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.

  • 2 Samuel 17:21-22

    And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you. Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.

  • 1 Samuel 20:38

    And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

  • Psalms 35:25

    Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we have it: let them not say, We have swallowed him up.

  • Psalms 56:2

    Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High.

  • Proverbs 6:4-5

    Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.

  • Psalms 55:8

    I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

  • Matthew 24:16-18

    Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

  • 2 Samuel 20:19-20

    I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel: why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, Far be it, far be it from me, that I should swallow up or destroy.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lodge.
15:28
but speedily.
21,22; 15:14,28; 1Sa 20:38; Ps 55:8; Pr 6:4,5; Mt 24:16-18
be swallowed.
20:19,20; Ps 35:25; 56:2; 57:3; 1Co 15:54; 2Co 5:4

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

Context

  • 2 Samuel 17:15

    Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.

  • 2 Samuel 17:16

    Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.

  • 2 Samuel 17:17

    Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En–rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.

Read all of 2 Samuel 17

2 Samuel 17:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Por tanto enviad inmediatamente, y dad aviso á David, diciendo: No quedes esta noche en los campos del desierto, sino pasa luego el Jordán, porque el rey no sea consumido, y todo el pueblo que con él está.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et maintenant, envoyez promptement, et avertissez David, en disant: Ne passe pas la nuit dans les plaines du désert, et ne manque pas de passer plus avant, de peur que le roi ne soit englouti, et tout le peuple qui est avec lui.
German
Elberfelder 1871
So sendet nun eilends hin und berichtet David und sprechet: Übernachte nicht diese Nacht in den Ebenen der Wüste, sondern gehe jedenfalls hinüber, damit nicht der König und alles Volk, das bei ihm ist, verschlungen werde.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Nunc ergo mittite cito, et nuntiate David, dicentes: Ne moreris nocte hac in campestribus deserti, sed absque dilatione transgredere: ne forte absorbeatur rex, et omnis populus qui cum eo est.