2 Samuel 13:13

English Standard Version

As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the outrageous fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Where could I ever go with my humiliation? And you—you would be like one of the outrageous fools in Israel! Please, speak to the king, for he won’t keep me from you.”

Hebrew Names Version
I, where shall I carry my shame? and as for you, you will be as one of the fools in Yisra'el. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.

King James Version
And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

Lexham English Bible
As for me, where should I take my disgrace? You will be as one of the fools in Israel. So please, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

New Century Version
I could never get rid of my shame! And you will be like the shameful fools in Israel! Please talk with the king, and he will let you marry me."

New English Translation
How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools in Israel! Just speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Amplified Bible
"As for me, how could I get rid of my shame and disgrace? And you, you will be considered one of the fools in Israel. So now, just speak to the king [about taking me as your wife], for he will not withhold me from you."

New American Standard Bible
"As for me, where could I get rid of my shame? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now then, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And I, whither shall I cause my shame to goe? and thou shalt be as one of the fooles in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, speake to the King, for he will not denie me vnto thee.

Legacy Standard Bible
As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the wicked fools in Israel. So now, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Contemporary English Version
Think of me. I'll be disgraced forever! And think of yourself. Everyone in Israel will say you're nothing but trash! Just ask the king, and he will let you marry me."

Complete Jewish Bible
Where could I go with such shame? And as for you, you will be regarded as one of Isra'el's vulgar brutes. Now therefore, please! Speak to the king, because he won't keep me from you."

Darby Translation
And I, whither shall I carry my reproach? and thou wouldest be as one of the infamous in Israel. And now, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

Easy-to-Read Version
I would never get rid of my shame, and people would think that you are just a common criminal. Please, talk with the king. He will let you marry me."

George Lamsa Translation
And as for me, where shall I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be reckoned as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.

Good News Translation
How could I ever hold up my head in public again? And you—you would be completely disgraced in Israel. Please, speak to the king, and I'm sure that he will give me to you."

Literal Translation
And I, where should I cause my disgrace to go? And you, you shall be as one of the fools in Israel. But now, please speak to the king; for he shall not withhold me from you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Whither shal I go with my shame? And thou shalt be as one of the vnwyse in Israel. But speake vnto the kynge, he shal not withholde me from the.

American Standard Version
And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

Bible in Basic English
What will become of me in my shame? and as for you, you will be looked down on with disgust by all Israel. Now then, go and make your request to the king, for he will not keep me from you.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I, whyther shall I cause my shame to go? And thou shalt be as one of the fooles in Israel: Now therefore, I pray thee speake vnto the king, and he wyll not denie me vnto thee.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the base men in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.'

King James Version (1611)
And I, whither shall I cause my shame to goe? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fooles in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, speake vnto the king, for he will not withhold me from thee.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I, whither shall I remove my reproach? and thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. And now, speak, I pray thee, to the king, for surely he will not keep me from thee.

English Revised Version
And I, whither shall I carry my shame? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

Berean Standard Bible
Where could I ever take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For Y schal not mow bere my schenschip, and thou schalt be as oon of the vnwise men in Israel; but rather speke thou to the kyng, and he schal not denye me to thee.

Young's Literal Translation
And I -- whither do I cause my reproach to go? and thou -- thou art as one of the fools in Israel; and now, speak, I pray thee, unto the king; for he doth not withhold me from thee.'

Update Bible Version
And I, where shall I carry my shame? and as for you, you will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray you, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.

Webster's Bible Translation
And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

World English Bible
I, where shall I carry my shame? and as for you, you will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.

New King James Version
And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you."

New Living Translation
Where could I go in my shame? And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel. Please, just speak to the king about it, and he will let you marry me."

New Life Bible
As for me, where could I get rid of my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. So now I beg you, speak to the king, for he will not keep me from you."

New Revised Standard
As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the scoundrels in Israel. Now therefore, I beg you, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, I, - whither could I take my reproach? Thou, too, wouldest be as one of the vile fellows, in Israel. Now, therefore, speak, I pray thee, unto the king, for he would not withhold me from thee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For I shall not be able to bear my shame, and thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel: but rather speak to the king, and he will not deny me to thee.

Revised Standard Version
As for me, where could I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as one of the wanton fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray you, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"As for me, where could I get rid of my reproach? And as for you, you will be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you."

Contextual Overview

¹ Now Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David's son, loved her. ² And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. ³ But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. ⁴ And he said to him, "O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." ⁵ Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.'" ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand." ⁷ Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, "Go to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him." ⁸ So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes. ⁹ And she took the pan and emptied it out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, "Send out everyone from me." So everyone went out from him. ¹⁰ Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Now therefore: Genesis 19:8, Judges 19:24

Reciprocal: Genesis 34:4 - General Genesis 34:7 - wrought Deuteronomy 22:21 - she hath wrought Joshua 7:15 - wrought Judges 20:6 - folly in Israel 2 Samuel 3:33 - as a fool dieth 1 Chronicles 21:8 - I have done Job 2:10 - as one Zechariah 9:11 - As

Cross-References

Genesis 6:11
Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight, and the earth was filled with violence.

Genesis 10:9
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord . Therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord ."

Genesis 13:4
to the place where he had made an altar at the first. And there Abram called upon the name of the Lord .

Genesis 13:6
so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together,

Genesis 13:8
Then Abram said to Lot, "Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.

Genesis 13:9
Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left."

Genesis 13:11
So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other.

Genesis 15:16
And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."

Genesis 18:20
Then the Lord said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

Genesis 38:7
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord put him to death.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go?.... She desires him to consider hey reputation, which would be lost; was she to go into a corner, into a place the most private and retired, yet she would blush at the thought of the crime committed; and still less able would she be to lift up her face in any public company; nor could she ever expect to be admitted into the matrimonial state; in short, her character would be entirely ruined:

and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel; as the vilest and basest and most abandoned in the nation; who ought of all men to be most careful of his reputation, being a prince in Israel, and heir apparent to the throne:

now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king: to give me to thee in marriage:

for he will not withhold me from thee; this she said, either as ignorant of the law, which forbids such marriages, or as supposing the king had a power to dispense with it, and, rather than he should die for love, would; though she seems to say this, and anything that occurred to her mind, to put him off of his wicked design for the present, holding then she should be delivered from him; besides, she was not his sister by the mother's side, and, as the Jews say, was born of a captive woman before she was proselyted and married to David, and so was free for Amnon z; and others say a she was the daughter of Maacah by a former husband, and not by David.

z Maimon. Hilchot Melacim, c. 8. sect. 8. Kimchi in 2 Sam. xiii. 1. a R. Moses Kotzensis, pr. affirm. 122.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

My shame - Better, “my reproach.” Compare Genesis 30:23; Gen 34:14; 1 Samuel 11:2.

Speak unto the king ... - It cannot be inferred with certainty from this that marriages were usual among half brothers and sisters in the time of David. The Levitical law forbade them (marginal reference), and Tamar may have merely wished to temporize. On the other hand, the debasing and unhumanizing institution of the harem, itself contrary to the law of Moses Deuteronomy 17:17, may well have led to other deviations from its precepts, and the precedent of Abraham Genesis 20:12 may have seemed to give some sanction to this particular breach of it.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 13:13. Speak unto the king — So it appears that she thought that the king, her father, would give her to him as wife. This is another strong mark of indelicacy in those simple but barbarous times. There might have been some excuse for such connections under the patriarchal age, but there was none now. But perhaps she said this only to divert him from his iniquitous purpose, that she might get out of his hands.