2 Samuel 14:15
New International Version
“And now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; perhaps he will grant his servant’s request.

New Living Translation
“I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me

English Standard Version
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

Berean Standard Bible
Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

King James Bible
Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

New King James Version
Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

New American Standard Bible
Now then, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his slave.

NASB 1995
“Now the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your maidservant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

NASB 1977
“Now the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is because the people have made me afraid; so your maidservant said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant-woman said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the word of his maidservant.

Amplified Bible
Now I came to speak of this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. So your maidservant thought, ‘I will just speak to the king; perhaps the king will do what his maidservant requests.

Christian Standard Bible
“Now therefore, I’ve come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I must speak to the king. Perhaps the king will grant his servant’s request.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Now therefore, I’ve come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I must speak to the king. Perhaps the king will grant his servant’s request.

American Standard Version
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

Contemporary English Version
Your Majesty, I came here to tell you about my problem, because I was afraid of what someone might do to me. I decided to come to you, because I thought you could help.

English Revised Version
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"I've come to say this to you because the people have frightened me. So I thought, 'I will speak to the king about this. Maybe the king will do something for me, his subject.

Good News Translation
Now, Your Majesty, the reason I have come to speak to you is that the people threatened me, and so I said to myself that I would speak to you in the hope that you would do what I ask.

International Standard Version
"Now as to why I've come to speak with your majesty the king, it's because the people have made me afraid, so your humble servant told herself, 'I'll go speak to the king, so perhaps the king will do what his humble servant has requested.

Majority Standard Bible
Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

NET Bible
I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. But your servant said, 'I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant asks.

New Heart English Bible
Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." He said, "Say on."

Webster's Bible Translation
Now therefore that I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

World English Bible
Now therefore, seeing that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid. Your servant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.’
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And now that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and your maidservant says, Please let me speak to the king; it may be the king does the word of his handmaid,

Young's Literal Translation
And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, it is because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,

Smith's Literal Translation
And now that I came to speak to the king my lord, this word, for the people will see me, and thy servant will say, I will speak now to the king, perhaps the king will do the word of his servant.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Now therefore I am come, to speak this word to my lord the king before the people. And thy handmaid said: I will speak to the king, it maybe the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Therefore, now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, in the presence of the people. And your handmaid said: I will speak to the king, for perhaps there may be some way for the king to accomplish the word of his handmaid.

New American Bible
And now, if I have presumed to speak to the king of this matter, it is because the people have given me cause to fear. And so your servant thought: ‘Let me speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the petition of his servant.

New Revised Standard Version
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Now therefore if I have spoken this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will deliver his handmaid from the hand of men,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Now behold, I have spoken this word to my Lord the King, for the people have troubled me and said that I, your Maid Servant, shall speak to the King; perhaps he will save his Maid Servant from the hands of men
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy handmaid said: I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord the king, the reason is that the people will see me, and thy handmaid will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the king will perform the request of his handmaid;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Absalom's Return to Jerusalem
14For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him. 15Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant. 16For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would cut off both me and my son from God’s inheritance.’…

Cross References
2 Samuel 14:20
Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”

2 Samuel 14:17
And 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.’”

2 Samuel 14:19
So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.

2 Samuel 13:39
And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he had been consoled over Amnon’s death.

2 Samuel 12:1-7
Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. / The rich man had a great number of sheep and cattle, / but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him. ...

1 Kings 3:16-28
At that time two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. / One woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I gave birth while she was in the house. / On the third day after I gave birth, this woman also had a baby. We were alone, with no one in the house but the two of us. ...

1 Samuel 25:24-31
She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant. / My lord should pay no attention to this scoundrel Nabal, for he lives up to his name: His name means Fool, and folly accompanies him. I, your servant, did not see my lord’s young men whom you sent. / Now, my lord, as surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, since the LORD has held you back from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hand, may your enemies and those who seek harm for my lord be like Nabal. ...

2 Samuel 19:18-23
and crossed at the ford to carry over the king’s household and to do what was good in his sight. When Shimei son of Gera crossed the Jordan, he fell down before the king / and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart. / For your servant knows that I have sinned, so here I am today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” ...

2 Samuel 18:5
Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.

2 Samuel 18:33
The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”

2 Samuel 19:4
But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”

2 Samuel 19:8-10
So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home. / And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom. / But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”

2 Samuel 19:14
So he swayed the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”

2 Samuel 19:22
And David replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you, that you should be my adversaries today? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? Am I not indeed aware that today I am king over Israel?”

2 Samuel 19:28
For all the house of my grandfather deserves death from my lord the king, yet you have set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right, then, do I have to keep appealing to the king?”


Treasury of Scripture

Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

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Afraid Cause Handmaid Maidservant Maid-Servant Perform Perhaps Reason Request Servant Speak Thought Word Words
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Afraid Cause Handmaid Maidservant Maid-Servant Perform Perhaps Reason Request Servant Speak Thought Word Words
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














So now I have come
This phrase indicates a decisive action taken by the woman from Tekoa, orchestrated by Joab to influence King David. The Hebrew root for "come" (בּוֹא, bo) often signifies entering or approaching with purpose. In the historical context, approaching a king was a significant and often daunting task, reflecting the gravity and urgency of the situation she was presenting.

to present this matter
The Hebrew word for "present" (דָּבַר, dabar) can also mean to speak or declare. This implies not just a casual mention but a formal presentation of a case. The "matter" refers to the parable she was instructed to tell, which was a strategic move to appeal to David's sense of justice and mercy, reflecting the wisdom and cunning often necessary in courtly life.

to my lord the king
The use of "my lord" (אֲדֹנִי, adoni) is a term of respect and submission, acknowledging the king's authority. In ancient Israel, the king was seen as God's appointed ruler, and addressing him with such reverence was customary. This reflects the hierarchical structure of society and the divine right of kings, a concept deeply rooted in theocratic governance.

because the people have made me afraid
Fear (יָרֵא, yare) in this context is not just personal but communal. The "people" likely refers to the broader societal pressures and potential unrest due to Absalom's banishment. This fear underscores the tension and instability within the kingdom, highlighting the need for wise and compassionate leadership.

Your maidservant thought
The term "maidservant" (שִׁפְחָה, shiphchah) denotes humility and service. Her self-identification as a maidservant emphasizes her lowly status and the boldness required to approach the king. This reflects the biblical theme of God using the humble and lowly to accomplish His purposes, as seen throughout Scripture.

‘I will speak to the king
The resolve to "speak" (דָּבַר, dabar) indicates courage and determination. In the biblical narrative, speaking to the king was not only a privilege but also a risk, as it could lead to favor or punishment. This highlights the woman's bravery and the importance of advocacy and intercession.

Perhaps he will grant the request
The word "perhaps" (אוּלַי, ulay) suggests hope and uncertainty. It reflects the woman's faith in the king's mercy and the possibility of a favorable outcome. This mirrors the biblical principle of approaching God with requests, trusting in His goodness and sovereignty.

of his maidservant
Reiterating her position as a "maidservant" reinforces her humility and dependence on the king's grace. It serves as a reminder of the power dynamics at play and the need for those in authority to act justly and compassionately. This aligns with the biblical call for leaders to shepherd their people with integrity and care.

(15) Because the people have made me afraid.--The woman here seeks to excuse her boldness in addressing the king by the pressure brought to bear upon her from without; but whether she means this in regard to what she has said of Absalom, or of her own. affairs, is very doubtful. In the former case the people would mean the nation generally; in the latter, her own family connections. Certainly in the next verse she returns to her own affairs to keep up the pretence of reality; but here there seems to be an intentional and studied ambiguity.

Verses 15-17. - Now therefore that I am come, etc. The woman now professes to return to her old story as the reason for her importunity, but she repeats it in so eager and indirect a manner as to indicate that it had another meaning. Instead, too, of thanking the king for fully granting her petition, she still flatters and coaxes as one whose purpose was as yet ungained. The king's word is, for rest (see margin): it puts an end to vexation, and, by deciding matters, sets the disputants at peace. He is as an angel of God, as God's messenger, whose words have Divine authority; and his office is, not to discern, but "to hear the good and the evil," unmoved, as the Vulgate renders it, by blessing and cursing. His mission is too high for him to be influenced either by good words or by evil, but having patiently heard both sides, and calmly thought over the reasons for and against, he will decide righteously. Finally, she ends with the prayer, And may Jehovah thy God be with thee! By such words she hoped to propitiate the king, who now could not fail to see that the errand of the woman was personal to himself.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now therefore,
וְ֠עַתָּה (wə·‘at·tāh)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 6258: At this time

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

to present
לְדַבֵּ֨ר (lə·ḏab·bêr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

this
הַזֶּ֔ה (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

matter
הַדָּבָ֣ר (had·dā·ḇār)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

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

my lord
אֲדֹנִי֙ (’ă·ḏō·nî)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 113: Sovereign, controller

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

because
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the people
הָעָ֑ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

have made me afraid.
יֵֽרְאֻ֖נִי (yê·rə·’u·nî)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural | first person common singular
Strong's 3372: To fear, to revere, caus, to frighten

Your servant
שִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֙ (šip̄·ḥā·ṯə·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8198: Maid, maidservant

thought:
וַתֹּ֤אמֶר (wat·tō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

I will speak
אֲדַבְּרָה־ (’ă·ḏab·bə·rāh-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular
Strong's 1696: To arrange, to speak, to subdue

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

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

Perhaps
אוּלַ֛י (’ū·lay)
Adverb
Strong's 194: Perhaps

[he]
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4428: A king

will grant
יַעֲשֶׂ֥ה (ya·‘ă·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

the request
דְּבַ֥ר (də·ḇar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1697: A word, a matter, thing, a cause

of his maidservant.
אֲמָתֽוֹ׃ (’ă·mā·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 519: A maidservant, female slave


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OT History: 2 Samuel 14:15 Now therefore seeing that I have come (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 14:14
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