2 Samuel 14:32
New International Version
Absalom said to Joab, “Look, I sent word to you and said, ‘Come here so I can send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there!"’ Now then, I want to see the king’s face, and if I am guilty of anything, let him put me to death.”

New Living Translation
And Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there. Let me see the king; if he finds me guilty of anything, then let him kill me.”

English Standard Version
Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’”

Berean Standard Bible
“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

King James Bible
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

New King James Version
And Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” ’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; but if there is iniquity in me, let him execute me.”

New American Standard Bible
Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, and if there is guilt in me, he can have me executed.”

NASB 1995
Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there."’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him put me to death.”

NASB 1977
And Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; and if there is iniquity in me, let him put me to death.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him put me to death.”

Amplified Bible
Absalom answered Joab, “I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king to ask, “Why have I come [back] from Geshur? It would be better for me to still be there.”’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.”

Christian Standard Bible
“Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Look,” Absalom explained to Joab, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? I’d be better off if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king. If I am guilty, let him kill me.”

American Standard Version
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Abishlum said to Yuab: “Behold I sent to you and I said: “Come, I shall send you to the King and you shall say to him, ‘Why have I come from Geshur? It was better for me when I was there, and now I wish to appear before the King. If there is a crime with me, let him kill me!’”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Abessalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, and I will send thee to the king, saying, Why did I come out of Gedsur? it would have been better for me to have remained there: and now, behold, I have not seen the face of the king; but if there is iniquity in me, then put me to death.

Contemporary English Version
Absalom answered, "You didn't pay any attention when I sent for you. I want you to ask my father why he told me to come back from Geshur. I was better off there. I want to see my father now! If I'm guilty, let him kill me."

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Absalom answered Joab: I sent to thee beseeching thee to come to me, that I might send thee to the king, to say to him: Wherefore am I come from Gessur? it had been better for me to be there: I beseech thee therefore that I may see the face of the king: and if he be mindful of my iniquity, let him kill me.

English Revised Version
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Absalom answered Joab, "I sent someone to tell you to come here because I wanted to send you to the king to ask him why I had to come from Geshur. It would be better for me if I were still there. Let me see the king now! If I'm guilty of a sin, he should kill me."

Good News Translation
Absalom answered, "Because you wouldn't come when I sent for you. I wanted you to go to the king and ask for me: 'Why did I leave Geshur and come here? It would have been better for me to have stayed there.'" And Absalom went on, "I want you to arrange for me to see the king, and if I'm guilty, then let him put me to death."

International Standard Version
In answer to Joab, Absalom replied, "Look, I sent for you, telling you 'Come here so I can send you to the king to ask him "What's the point in moving here from Geshur? I would have been better off to have remained there!"' So let me see the king's face, and if I'm guilty of anything, let him execute me!"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Absalom answered Joab: 'Behold, I sent unto thee, saying: Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say: Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it were better for me to be there still; now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him kill me.'

Literal Standard Version
And Absalom says to Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here, and I send you to the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? [It was] good for me while I [was] there—and now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me then you have put me to death.”

Majority Standard Bible
“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”

New American Bible
Absalom answered Joab: “I sent you a message: Come here, that I may send you to the king to say: ‘Why did I come back from Geshur? I would be better off if I were still there!’ Now, let me appear before the king. If I am guilty, let him put me to death.”

NET Bible
Absalom said to Joab, "Look, I sent a message to you saying, 'Come here so that I can send you to the king with this message: "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there."' Let me now see the face of the king. If I am at fault, let him put me to death!"

New Revised Standard Version
Absalom answered Joab, “Look, I sent word to you: Come here, that I may send you to the king with the question, ‘Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.’ Now let me go into the king’s presence; if there is guilt in me, let him kill me!”

New Heart English Bible
Absalom answered Joab, "Look, I sent to you, saying, 'Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, "Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still. Now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me."'"

Webster's Bible Translation
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me had I been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there is any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

World English Bible
Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent to you, saying, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still. Now therefore, let me see the king’s face; and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.”’”

Young's Literal Translation
And Absalom saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? -- good for me while I am there -- and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Absalom Reconciled to David
31Then Joab came to Absalom’s house and demanded, “Why did your servants set my field on fire?” 32“Look,” said Absalom, “I sent for you and said, ‘Come here. I want to send you to the king to ask: Why have I come back from Geshur? It would be better for me if I were still there.’ So now, let me see the king’s face, and if there is iniquity in me, let him kill me.” 33So Joab went and told the king, and David summoned Absalom, who came to him and bowed facedown before him. Then the king kissed Absalom.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 20:8
Therefore deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?"

2 Samuel 3:3
his second was Chileab, by Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel; his third was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur;

2 Samuel 13:37
Now Absalom fled and went to Talmai son of Ammihud, the king of Geshur. But David mourned for his son every day.

2 Samuel 14:31
Then Joab came to Absalom's house and demanded, "Why did your servants set my field on fire?"

Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.


Treasury of Scripture

And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent to you, saying, Come here, that I may send you to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.

it had been

Exodus 14:12
Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:3
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Exodus 17:3
And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?

if there

Genesis 3:12
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

1 Samuel 15:13
And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.

Psalm 36:2
For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.

Jump to Previous
Absalom Better Face Geshur Good Hither Iniquity Joab Kill King's Wherefore
Jump to Next
Absalom Better Face Geshur Good Hither Iniquity Joab Kill King's Wherefore
2 Samuel 14
1. Joab, suborning a widow of Tekoah to incline the king's heart to fetch Absalom,
21. brings him home to Jerusalem
25. Absalom's beauty, hair, and children
28. After two years, Absalom is brought into the king's presence by Joab














(32) If there be any iniquity.--Absalom makes no acknowledgment of having done wrong, but simply says that this state of half-reconciliation is intolerable. He must either be punished or fully pardoned. Joab's intercession accomplishes its purpose; the king receives Absalom, and kisses him in token of complete reconciliation. In this David showed great weakness, for which he afterwards suffered severely.

Verse 32. - If there be (any) iniquity in me, let him kill me. The word "any," wrongly inserted in the Authorized Version, as omitted in the Revised Version. It would have been monstrous for Absalom to profess innocence, with the murder of Amnon fresh in his memory; but the phrase, "if there be iniquity in me," means, "if my offence is still unpardoned." If year after year he was to be treated as a criminal, then he would rather be put to death at once. And Absalom's plea succeeds. Joab, who had been unwilling to visit the prisoner, now consents to act as mediator, reports to David his son's vexation at such long continued coldness, and obtains full pardon.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Look,”
הִנֵּ֣ה (hin·nêh)
Interjection
Strong's 2009: Lo! behold!

said
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Absalom,
אַבְשָׁל֣וֹם (’aḇ·šā·lō·wm)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 53: Absalom -- 'my father is peace', two Israelites

“I sent
שָׁלַ֣חְתִּי (šā·laḥ·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

for
אֵלֶ֣יךָ ׀ (’ê·le·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

you and said,
לֵאמֹ֡ר (lê·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 559: To utter, say

‘Come
בֹּ֣א (bō)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

here.
הֵ֠נָּה (hên·nāh)
Adverb
Strong's 2008: Hither, thither

I want to send
וְאֶשְׁלְחָה֩ (wə·’eš·lə·ḥāh)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

you to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

the king
הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

to ask:
לֵאמֹ֗ר (lê·mōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 559: To utter, say

Why
לָ֤מָּה (lām·māh)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

have I come back
בָּ֙אתִי֙ (bā·ṯî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

from Geshur?
מִגְּשׁ֔וּר (mig·gə·šūr)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1650: Geshur -- a territory East of the upper Jordan, also inhabitants of Geshur

[It would be] better
ט֥וֹב (ṭō·wḇ)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 2896: Pleasant, agreeable, good

for me
לִ֖י (lî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

[if] I [were]
אֲנִי־ (’ă·nî-)
Pronoun - first person common singular
Strong's 589: I

still
עֹ֣ד (‘ōḏ)
Adverb
Strong's 5750: Iteration, continuance, again, repeatedly, still, more

there.’
שָׁ֑ם (šām)
Adverb
Strong's 8033: There, then, thither

So now,
וְעַתָּ֗ה (wə·‘at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time

let me see
אֶרְאֶה֙ (’er·’eh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect Cohortative if contextual - first person common singular
Strong's 7200: To see

the king's
הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

face,
פְּנֵ֣י (pə·nê)
Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

and if
וְאִם־ (wə·’im-)
Conjunctive waw | Conjunction
Strong's 518: Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not

there is
יֶשׁ־ (yeš-)
Adverb
Strong's 3426: Being, substance, existence, is

iniquity
עָוֺ֖ן (‘ā·wōn)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 5771: Iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity

in me,
בִּ֥י (bî)
Preposition | first person common singular
Strong's Hebrew

let him kill me.”
וֶהֱמִתָֽנִי׃ (we·hĕ·mi·ṯā·nî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular
Strong's 4191: To die, to kill


Links
2 Samuel 14:32 NIV
2 Samuel 14:32 NLT
2 Samuel 14:32 ESV
2 Samuel 14:32 NASB
2 Samuel 14:32 KJV

2 Samuel 14:32 BibleApps.com
2 Samuel 14:32 Biblia Paralela
2 Samuel 14:32 Chinese Bible
2 Samuel 14:32 French Bible
2 Samuel 14:32 Catholic Bible

OT History: 2 Samuel 14:32 Absalom answered Joab Behold I sent (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 14:31
Top of Page
Top of Page