2 Samuel 19:17
New International Version
With him were a thousand Benjamites, along with Ziba, the steward of Saul’s household, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed to the Jordan, where the king was.

New Living Translation
A thousand other men from the tribe of Benjamin were with him, including Ziba, the chief servant of the house of Saul, and Ziba’s fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan to meet the king.

English Standard Version
And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king,

Berean Standard Bible
along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
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 the Jordan before the king.

New American Standard Bible
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 rushed to the Jordan before the king.

NASB 1995
There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

NASB 1977
And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now there were one thousand men of Benjamin with him, with Ziba the young man of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king.

Amplified Bible
and a thousand men [from the tribe] of Benjamin with him. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and twenty servants with him, rushed down to the Jordan before the king.

Christian Standard Bible
There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him. Ziba, an attendant from the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and twenty servants also rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
There were 1,000 men from Benjamin with him. Ziba, an attendant from the house of Saul, with his 15 sons and 20 servants also rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king.

American Standard Version
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 through the Jordan in the presence of the king.

Contemporary English Version
1,000 others from Benjamin had come with him. Ziba, the chief servant of Saul's family, also came to the Jordan River. He and his 15 sons and 20 servants waded across to meet David.

English Revised Version
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 through Jordan in the presence of the king.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
One thousand people from Benjamin were with him. And Ziba, the servant of Saul's family, rushed to the Jordan River across from the king. Ziba brought his 15 sons and 20 servants.

Good News Translation
He had with him a thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of Saul's family, also came with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and they arrived at the Jordan before the king.

International Standard Version
Ziba, the steward in charge of Saul's household, and 1,000 descendants of Benjamin accompanied him, along with Ziba's fifteen sons and 20 servants. They rushed toward the Jordan River ahead of the king

Majority Standard Bible
along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king

NET Bible
There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him, along with Ziba the servant of Saul's household, and with him his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They hurriedly crossed the Jordan within sight of the king.

New Heart English Bible
and a thousand men from Benjamin with him. But Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, waded through the Jordan ahead of the king,

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of Saul’s house, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and one thousand men [are] with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.

Young's Literal Translation
and a thousand men are with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.

Smith's Literal Translation
And a thousand men with him from Benjamin, and Ziba the boy of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
With a thousand men of Benjamin, and Siba the servant of the house of Saul: and his fifteen sons, and twenty servants were with him: and going over the Jordan,

Catholic Public Domain Version
with one thousand men from Benjamin, and with Ziba, the servant from the house of Saul. And with him were his fifteen sons and twenty servants. And going into the Jordan,

New American Bible
accompanied by a thousand men from Benjamin. Ziba, too, the servant of the house of Saul, accompanied by his fifteen sons and twenty servants, hastened to the Jordan before the king.

New Revised Standard Version
with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Ziba the servant of Saul and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him crossed over and constructed a bridge over the Jordan before the king.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Tsiba the Boy Servant of Shaul and his fifteen sons and his twenty Servants with him crossed over, and they made a bridge for the Jordan before the King
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
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 rushed into the Jordan before the king.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And a thousand men of Benjamin were with him, and Siba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons with him, and his twenty servants with him: and they went directly down to Jordan before the king,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Shimei Pardoned
16Then Shimei son of Gera, a Benjamite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David, 17along with a thousand men of Benjamin, as well as Ziba the steward of the house of Saul and his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They rushed down to the Jordan before the king 18and 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…

Cross References
2 Samuel 16:5-13
As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses. / He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left. / And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed! ...

2 Samuel 9:6-8
And when Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he fell facedown in reverence. Then David said, “Mephibosheth!” “I am your servant,” he replied. / “Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.” / Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”

1 Kings 2:8-9
Keep an eye on Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite from Bahurim who is with you. He called down bitter curses against me on the day I went to Mahanaim, but when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD: ‘I will never put you to the sword.’ / Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You know what you ought to do to him to bring his gray head down to Sheol in blood.”

2 Samuel 3:32-39
When they buried Abner in Hebron, the king wept aloud at Abner’s tomb, and all the people wept. / And the king sang this lament for Abner: “Should Abner die the death of a fool? / Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered. As a man falls before the wicked, so also you fell.” And all the people wept over him even more. ...

2 Samuel 15:18-22
and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath. / Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. / In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.” ...

2 Samuel 16:1-4
When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. / “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.” / “Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’” ...

1 Samuel 25:23-31
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him. / 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. ...

2 Samuel 1:11-12
Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same. / They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

2 Samuel 18:19-33
Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” / But Joab replied, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.” / So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running. ...

2 Samuel 20:1-2
Now a worthless man named Sheba son of Bichri, a Benjamite, happened to be there, and he blew the ram’s horn and shouted: “We have no share in David, no inheritance in Jesse’s son. Every man to his tent, O Israel!” / So all the men of Israel deserted David to follow Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah stayed by their king all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem.

1 Kings 1:49-53
At this, all the guests of Adonijah arose in terror and scattered. / But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar. / It was reported to Solomon: “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me not to put his servant to the sword.’” ...

1 Kings 2:36-46
Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else. / On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.” / “The sentence is fair,” Shimei replied. “Your servant will do as my lord the king has spoken.” And Shimei lived in Jerusalem for a long time. ...

Matthew 5:44
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Romans 12:20-21
On the contrary, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” / Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Luke 6:27-28
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, / bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.


Treasury of Scripture

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.

Ziba

2 Samuel 19:26,27
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…

2 Samuel 9:2,10
And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he

2 Samuel 16:1-4
And when David was a little past the top of the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and an hundred bunches of raisins, and an hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine…

Jump to Previous
Benjamin Benjamites Fifteen Forded House Household Jordan Presence Rushed Rushing Saul Saul's Servant Servants Steward Thousand Twenty Ziba
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Benjamin Benjamites Fifteen Forded House Household Jordan Presence Rushed Rushing Saul Saul's Servant Servants Steward Thousand Twenty Ziba
2 Samuel 19
1. Joab causes the king to cease his mourning
9. The Israelites are earnest to bring the king back
11. David sends to the priest to incite them of Judah
18. Shimei is pardoned
24. Mephibosheth excused
32. Barzillai dismissed, and Chimham his son taken into the king's family
41. The Israelites expostulate with Judah for bringing home the king without them














along with a thousand men of Benjamin
The tribe of Benjamin holds significant historical and theological importance in Israel's narrative. Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel, and the tribe is known for its fierce warriors. The presence of "a thousand men of Benjamin" signifies a substantial support for King David, highlighting the tribe's loyalty despite its previous allegiance to Saul, who was also a Benjamite. This shift in allegiance underscores the divine orchestration in uniting the tribes of Israel under David's kingship, fulfilling God's covenantal promises.

and Ziba the steward of the house of Saul
Ziba's role as "the steward of the house of Saul" indicates his position of authority and responsibility over Saul's estate. Historically, stewards were trusted servants who managed household affairs, reflecting Ziba's influence and resourcefulness. His presence here is significant, as it demonstrates a political and personal shift towards David, suggesting a recognition of David's legitimate rule. This aligns with the biblical theme of God's sovereignty in establishing leaders according to His divine plan.

with his fifteen sons and twenty servants
The mention of "fifteen sons and twenty servants" emphasizes Ziba's wealth and status. In ancient Near Eastern culture, a large household was a sign of prosperity and influence. This detail not only highlights Ziba's personal resources but also his commitment to David, as he brings his entire household to support the king. It reflects the broader acceptance and consolidation of David's reign, as influential figures and their families align themselves with God's anointed king.

They rushed down to the Jordan before the king
The phrase "rushed down to the Jordan" conveys urgency and eagerness. The Jordan River often symbolizes transition and new beginnings in Scripture, such as Israel's crossing into the Promised Land. Here, the act of rushing to the Jordan signifies a pivotal moment of reconciliation and allegiance to David. It illustrates the people's recognition of David's God-given authority and their desire to be part of the new era of unity and peace under his leadership. This moment is a testament to God's faithfulness in restoring and guiding His people through their king.

(17) Before the king.--Comp. the same phrase in 2Samuel 20:8. In both cases "before" is, literally, before the face of, and is equivalent to saying "they went over Jordan to meet the king." In their eagerness to prove their very doubtful allegiance, they dashed through the waters of the ford, and met the king on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Verse 17. - They went over Jordan before the king. This might mean that, in bringing the king across, Shimei and the Benjamites led the way. But, first, the verb, which is a rare one, means that they dashed through the river impetuously; and secondly, before the king, means "in the king's presence." While the tribe of Judah remained on the left bank to receive the king on his landing, Shimei and Ziba sought favour by a show of excessive zeal, and forded the Jordan, so as to be the first to welcome him (see ver. 20).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
along with a thousand
וְאֶ֨לֶף (wə·’e·lep̄)
Conjunctive waw | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 505: A thousand

men
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

of Benjamin
מִבִּנְיָמִן֒ (mib·bin·yā·min)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1144: Benjamin -- 'son of the right hand', youngest son of Jacob, also the name of two other Israelites

and Ziba,
וְצִיבָ֗א (wə·ṣî·ḇā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6717: Ziba -- a servant in Saul's house

the steward
נַ֚עַר (na·‘ar)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5288: A boy, lad, youth, retainer

of the house
בֵּ֣ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Saul,
שָׁא֔וּל (šā·’ūl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7586: Saul -- first king of Israel, also an Edomite and two Israelites

and his fifteen
וַחֲמֵ֨שֶׁת (wa·ḥă·mê·šeṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2568: Five

sons
בָּנָ֛יו (bā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

and twenty
וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים (wə·‘eś·rîm)
Conjunctive waw | Number - common plural
Strong's 6242: Twenty, twentieth

servants.
עֲבָדָ֖יו (‘ă·ḇā·ḏāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5650: Slave, servant

They rushed down
וְצָלְח֥וּ (wə·ṣā·lə·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6743: To push forward

to the Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּ֖ן (hay·yar·dên)
Article | Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3383: Jordan -- the principal river of Palestine

before
לִפְנֵ֥י (lip̄·nê)
Preposition-l | Noun - common plural construct
Strong's 6440: The face

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


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OT History: 2 Samuel 19:17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)
2 Samuel 19:16
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