Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Samuel
Chapter 19: The Day of the King's Return
The victory nearly curdles into disaster as David's grief paralyzes the kingdom, until Joab shakes him back to duty. Then the king returns in a day of mercy: Shimei the curser is spared, faithful Mephibosheth is vindicated, and aged Barzillai is honored, while the tribes fall to quarreling over their king.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Samuel chapter 19. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 19 recounts David's restoration to the throne and the mercy that marked his return. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Joab Rebukes David; the King Returns (2 Samuel 19:1-15)
David's mourning demoralizes his people, until Joab bluntly calls him back to his duty, and the king moves to reclaim the throne.
The Victory Was Turned Into Mourning
"And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. And 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. And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! And 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; In 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. Now 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. Then 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. And 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. And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back? And 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. Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? And 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. And 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. So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan."
Word Study
"the victory... was turned into mourning," Hebrew teshuah le-ebel (תְשׁוּעָה לְאֵבֶל), "deliverance into mourning." David's grief, right in itself, became excessive and self-absorbed until it "turned the victory into mourning" and shamed the very men who had risked all to save him. Joab's rebuke is harsh, even brutal, and self-serving (he had murdered Absalom), yet it contains hard truth: a leader's private sorrow must not be allowed to crush his public duty and dishearten those who love him. There is "a time to weep" (Ecclesiastes 3:4), but grief unchecked can become a kind of ingratitude to God and man, valuing the lost rebel above the faithful living. David heard the rebuke and did the hard thing: "the king arose, and sat in the gate," taking up his duty again. Sometimes love for God's people requires us to set aside even legitimate grief to serve them. The chapter then shows David wisely and generously wooing back the tribes, even appointing Absalom's general Amasa in a bid to heal the rift, a mixture of grace and shrewd politics.
Explanation
David's inconsolable grief over Absalom poisons the day of victory. The soldiers who had saved the kingdom slink home ashamed, as if defeated, because the king mourns a rebel instead of thanking his deliverers. Joab confronts David with blistering candor: his mourning insults his loyal servants and, unchecked, will cost him their allegiance. Stung but wise, David rises and sits in the gate to be seen by his people, resuming his kingly role. Meanwhile the northern tribes, having backed Absalom, now debate bringing David back; and David, hearing this, prods his own tribe of Judah, who had lagged, to lead the way, even offering Amasa, Absalom's commander, Joab's old post, to win them. Judah's heart is turned, and they invite the king to return. Grief is mastered, duty resumed, and the throne begins to be restored.
Gospel Focus
There is a needful lesson here about grief and duty. Sorrow has its place, but it must not become so consuming that it turns God's mercies into mourning and disheartens those who serve us. Even in loss, the people of God are called back to their calling, to "comfort... one another" (1 Thessalonians 4:18) and take up their work. Joab, for all his hardness, spoke a truth David needed. God often uses even flawed and blunt voices to recall us to duty when grief or self-pity would paralyze us. And there is a wider lesson: our attachments must be rightly ordered. David's love for one lost son eclipsed his gratitude to the many who loved and served him, and even his thankfulness to God for deliverance. Cherish the living gifts God gives; do not let grief over what is lost blind you to the mercies that remain. Arise, and sit in the gate; there is a calling still to fulfill.
Shimei and Mephibosheth (2 Samuel 19:16-30)
On the day of his return, David spares the curser Shimei and vindicates the faithful Mephibosheth.
Shall There Any Man Be Put to Death This Day?
"And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. And 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. And 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; And 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. For 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. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the LORD'S anointed? And 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? Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him. And 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. And 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? And 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. 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. For 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? And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. And 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."
Word Study
"shall there any man be put to death this day?", the day of the king's return is a day of mercy. On the very day David is restored to his throne, he refuses to execute even Shimei, who had cursed him at his lowest, "shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel?" It is a day for grace, not vengeance; David reigns again, and mercy, not the sword, marks his coronation-return. So the coming of the true King is a day of amnesty for all who fall before Him confessing, "I have sinned," as Shimei did. And the vindication of Mephibosheth shines with a lovely, humble devotion. Slandered by Ziba (chapter 16), the lame prince had in fact mourned for David the whole time he was gone, "neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes." When David, still uncertain, splits the estate, Mephibosheth's reply reveals a heart that treasured the king above the property: "let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace." Here is the mark of a true subject: the King Himself is the treasure, not His gifts. To have the King back is enough; the estate is nothing beside His presence.
Explanation
As David crosses the Jordan homeward, Shimei, who had cursed him in his flight, rushes to meet him with a large entourage, falls before him, and confesses his sin, hoping for mercy. Abishai wants him executed for cursing the LORD's anointed, but David refuses to stain his day of restoration with blood, and swears to spare him. Then Mephibosheth comes, unkempt from mourning David's absence, and clears himself of Ziba's slander: he had wanted to flee with David but, being lame, was deceived and abandoned by his servant Ziba. Graciously he leaves the verdict to the king, "do therefore what is good in thine eyes," confessing he deserves nothing. David, perhaps unable to fully untangle the truth, divides the land between Ziba and Mephibosheth. But Mephibosheth's response says everything: let Ziba take it all, for the king has come home in peace. His joy is in the king, not the property.
Gospel Focus
The day of the king's return was a day of mercy, and it foreshadows the coming of the true King. David spared Shimei, who fell before him confessing "I have sinned"; so the King of grace receives all who come to Him owning their sin, "shall there any man be put to death this day?" There is amnesty at the King's return for the penitent. And Mephibosheth models the heart of the true subject: he had mourned the whole time the king was gone, longing for his return, and when the king came, he counted the lost estate as nothing, "let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace." So the believer, mourning in the King's absence, longs for His return above every earthly thing, and will say at His coming, "let the world take all; my King has come." "For to me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21); the treasure is the King Himself, not His gifts. Do you long for the King's return like Mephibosheth, and count His presence more than all the world?
Barzillai and the Strife of the Tribes (2 Samuel 19:31-43)
Old Barzillai humbly declines reward, and the joy of the king's return is marred by rivalry between Israel and Judah.
How Long Have I to Live?
"And Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim, and went over Jordan with the king, to conduct him over Jordan. Now 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. And the king said unto Barzillai, Come thou over with me, and I will feed thee with me in Jerusalem. And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem? I 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? Thy servant will go a little way over Jordan with the king: and why should the king recompense it me with such a reward? Let 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. And 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. And 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. Then 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. And, 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? And 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? And 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."
Word Study
"How long have I to live?", the perspective of one near eternity. Old Barzillai, eighty years old, who had generously provisioned David in exile, is offered a place of honor and comfort at the king's table in Jerusalem. He declines with beautiful humility and wisdom, "How long have I to live?" His days are few, his senses failing, earthly luxuries have lost their savor; he would only be a burden and has no wish for reward. He asks only to die in his own city by his parents' graves, and sends his son Chimham in his place. Here is the fitting mind of an aged saint near eternity: he holds earthly honors loosely, having "no continuing city, but... seek one to come" (Hebrews 13:14). He served the king freely, not for reward, and now, with the grave in view, sets his heart on what is lasting, not on a place at an earthly court. Would that all who near the end of life had Barzillai's clear-eyed detachment from the world's rewards and his readiness to go home. In sharp and sad contrast, the section ends with the tribes quarreling jealously over the king, a reminder that even a day of restoration can be marred by human pride and rivalry.
Explanation
Barzillai the Gileadite, who had sustained David at Mahanaim, escorts the king to the Jordan. David, grateful, invites the old man to live out his days in royal comfort at Jerusalem. But Barzillai, eighty and content, graciously declines: at his age the pleasures of court would be wasted on failing senses, and he would only be a burden; let him go home to die and be buried among his own. He commends his son Chimham to the king instead, and David gladly promises to honor him. With a kiss and a blessing, David and Barzillai part. But the chapter closes on a discordant note: the men of Israel and the men of Judah fall to quarreling over who has the greater claim on the king and the honor of bringing him back, and "the words of the men of Judah were fiercer." The seeds of the next chapter's fresh revolt are already sown in this jealous strife.
Gospel Focus
Barzillai is a model of the aged saint who holds the world loosely with eternity in view. Offered every earthly comfort, he answers, "How long have I to live?", and turns homeward to die in peace, content to have served the king freely and wanting no reward. This is the wisdom of a heart set on things above, that has learned to count earthly honors small beside the nearness of the grave and the hope beyond it, seeking "a better country, that is, an heavenly" (Hebrews 11:16). May we serve our King with such freedom, and near the end, let go of the world with such grace. But the closing quarrel is a sober warning: the tribes, who should have rejoiced together in the return of their king, instead fell to jealous rivalry over him. How often the people of God, even in a season of blessing, mar it with pride and party spirit, "we have more right in David than ye." Where the King should unite His people, the flesh divides them. Let us beware the spirit that quarrels over the King rather than rejoicing together in Him, for a house divided over its king soon falls to the next Sheba.
Chapter 19 in Review
2 Samuel 19 recounts David's restoration to the throne. His inconsolable grief over Absalom turns the victory into mourning and shames his loyal men, until Joab's blunt rebuke recalls him to duty and he sits again in the gate. David wisely woos back the tribes, and on his return shows mercy: he spares Shimei the curser, who fell before him confessing "I have sinned," refusing to shed blood on his day of restoration; and he vindicates faithful Mephibosheth, who had mourned the king's absence and now counts the lost estate as nothing, "let him take all, forasmuch as my lord the king is come again in peace." Aged Barzillai humbly declines royal reward, and the chapter ends with Israel and Judah quarreling jealously over their king.
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter teaches that grief must not crush duty, that the day of the King's return is a day of mercy for all who confess their sin, and that the true subject treasures the King Himself above His gifts, as Mephibosheth did. Barzillai models the aged saint who holds the world loosely with eternity in view. And the closing strife warns that even in a day of blessing, pride and party spirit can divide the people who should be united in their King, a division that will soon bear bitter fruit.
- David's grief turned victory into mourning; sorrow must not crush duty or slight the mercies that remain.
- On his return the king showed mercy, "shall there any man be put to death this day?", the day of grace for the penitent.
- Mephibosheth treasured the king above the estate, "let him take all... my lord is come again in peace."
- Barzillai held earthly reward loosely with eternity in view; but the tribes marred the day with jealous strife.
Questions for Reflection
- Has grief or self-pity ever kept you from duty and blinded you to remaining mercies?
- Do you long for the King's return like Mephibosheth, counting His presence more than all the world?
- Do you, like Barzillai, hold the world loosely with eternity in view, and refuse the party spirit that divides God's people?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Grief and duty; Joab's rebuke; the king returns: 2 Samuel 19:1-15; Ecclesiastes 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:18.
- Mercy to Shimei; the devotion of Mephibosheth; the King above His gifts: 2 Samuel 19:16-30; Philippians 1:21.
- Barzillai's humility; eternity in view; the strife of the tribes: 2 Samuel 19:31-43; Hebrews 13:14; Hebrews 11:16.