Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, August 16th, 2025
the Week of Proper 14 / Ordinary 19
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Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

2 Samuel 17:4

This proposal seemed right to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Ahithophel;   Citizens;   Council;   Diplomacy;   Friendship;   Government;   Spies;   War;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ahithophel;   Amasa;   Hushai;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Absalom;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Elder;   Family Life and Relations;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ahithophel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Elder;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ahithophel ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Absalom;   Elder;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ahith'ophel;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Elder;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
The saying pleased Avshalom well, and all the Zakenim of Yisra'el.
King James Version
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Lexham English Bible
The word was right in the eyes of Absalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
English Standard Version
And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
New Century Version
This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.
New English Translation
This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders of Israel.
Amplified Bible
So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
New American Standard Bible
And the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the Elders of Israel.
Legacy Standard Bible
And the word was right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
Contemporary English Version
Absalom and all the leaders of the tribes of Israel agreed that Ahithophel had a good plan.
Complete Jewish Bible
What he said pleased Avshalom and all the leaders of Isra'el.
Darby Translation
And the saying was right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
Easy-to-Read Version
This plan seemed good to Absalom and all the leaders of Israel.
George Lamsa Translation
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Good News Translation
This seemed like good advice to Absalom and all the Israelite leaders.
Literal Translation
And the thing was pleasing in Absalom's eyes, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Absalom thought that good, and so dyd all the Elders in Israel.
American Standard Version
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Bible in Basic English
And the saying was pleasing to Absalom and to the responsible men of Israel.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the saying pleased Absalom wel and al the elders of Israel.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
King James Version (1611)
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the Elders of Israel.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the saying was right in the eyes of Abessalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
English Revised Version
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the word of him plesyde Absolon, and alle the grete men in birthe of Israel.
Young's Literal Translation
And the thing is right in the eyes of Absalom, and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
Update Bible Version
And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the saying, pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
World English Bible
The saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
New King James Version
And the saying pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
New Living Translation
This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the elders of Israel.
New Life Bible
The plan pleased Absalom and all the leaders of Israel.
New Revised Standard
The advice pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the saying was right in the eyes of Absolom, - and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And his saying pleased Absalom, and all the ancients of Israel.
Revised Standard Version
And the advice pleased Ab'salom and all the elders of Israel.
THE MESSAGE
Absalom thought it was an excellent strategy, and all the elders of Israel agreed.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.

Contextual Overview

1Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will set out in pursuit of David tonight. 2I will attack him while he is weary and discouraged, throw him into a panic, and all the people with him will scatter. I will strike down only the king 3and bring all the people back to you. When everyone returns except the man you’re looking for, all the people will be at peace.” 4This proposal seemed right to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.5Then Absalom said, “Summon Hushai the Archite also. Let’s hear what he has to say as well.” 6So Hushai came to Absalom, and Absalom told him: “Ahithophel offered this proposal. Should we carry out his proposal? If not, what do you say?” 7Hushai replied to Absalom, “The advice Ahithophel has given this time is not good.” 8Hushai continued, “You know your father and his men. They are warriors and are desperate like a wild bear robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier who won’t spend the night with the people. 9He’s probably already hiding in one of the caves or some other place. If some of our troops fall first, someone is sure to hear and say, ‘There’s been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’ 10Then, even a brave man with the heart of a lion will lose heart because all Israel knows that your father and the valiant men with him are warriors.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the saying: 1 Samuel 18:20, 1 Samuel 18:21, 1 Samuel 23:21, Esther 5:14, Romans 1:32

pleased Absalom well: Heb. was right in the eyes of Absalom, 2 Chronicles 30:4, Esther 1:21

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 20:7 - It is well Esther 2:4 - the thing Isaiah 8:10 - counsel

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I will make you into a great nation,I will bless you,I will make your name great,and you will be a blessing.
Genesis 13:16
I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust of the earth, then your offspring could be counted.
Genesis 16:10
The angel of the Lord said to her, “I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.”
Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in my presence and be blameless.
Genesis 17:11
You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Genesis 17:18
So Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael were acceptable to you!”
Genesis 22:17
I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies.
Genesis 32:12
You have said, ‘I will cause you to prosper, and I will make your offspring like the sand of the sea, too numerous to be counted.’”
Genesis 35:11
God also said to him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed an assembly of nations, will come from you, and kings will descend from you.
Genesis 48:19
But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know! He too will become a tribe, and he too will be great; nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his offspring will become a populous nation.”

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all elders of Israel. That were of the privy council; for it was a well contrived scheme to surprise David his men by night, in the condition they were in; nothing like seizing an opportunity, and making quick dispatch in executing a villainous design; only it is strange that Absalom could so easily come into a scheme to take away the life of so indulgent a father, which is only to be accounted for by his ambition; but it is stranger still that the elders of Israel should be pleased with it, and agree to and determine upon the death of a prince, who had so many years ruled them with justice and equity, clemency and mercy; and fought their battles for them, and raised their nation to such a pitch of glory it never had before.


 
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