2 Samuel 14:18

THE MESSAGE

The king then said, "I'm going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully." "Certainly," she said. "Let my master, the king, speak."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the king answered the woman, “I’m going to ask you something; don’t conceal it from me!”

Hebrew Names Version
Then the king answered the woman, Please don't hide anything from me that I shall ask you. The woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

King James Version
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Lexham English Bible
The king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not withhold from me a thing which I am about to ask you." The woman said, "Please let my lord the king speak."

English Standard Version
Then the king answered the woman, "Do not hide from me anything I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."

New Century Version
Then King David said, "Do not hide the truth. Answer me one question." The woman said, "My master the king, please ask your question."

New English Translation
Then the king replied to the woman, "Don't hide any information from me when I question you." The woman said, "Let my lord the king speak!"

Amplified Bible
Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."

New American Standard Bible
Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the King answered, and said vnto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall aske thee. And the woman sayde, Let my lord the King now speake.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."

Contemporary English Version
Then David said to the woman, "Now I'm going to ask you a question, and don't try to hide the truth!" The woman replied, "Please go ahead, Your Majesty."

Complete Jewish Bible
The king then answered the woman: "I'm going to ask you a question, and please don't hide anything from me." The woman said, "Let my lord the king now speak."

Darby Translation
And the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Easy-to-Read Version
King David answered the woman, "You must answer the question I will ask you." The woman said, "My lord and king, please ask your question."

George Lamsa Translation
Then the king answered and said to the woman, Do not hide from me anything that I ask you. And the woman said to him, Let my lord the king now speak.

Good News Translation
The king answered, "I'm going to ask you a question, and you must tell me the whole truth." "Ask me anything, Your Majesty," she answered.

Literal Translation
And the king answered and said to the woman, Please do not hide from me the thing that I am asking you. And the woman said, Then let my lord the king speak.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The kynge answered and sayde vnto the woman: Kepe nothynge fro me that I axe the. The woman sayde: Let my lorde the kinge speake on.

American Standard Version
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Bible in Basic English
Then the king said to the woman, Now give me an answer to the question I am going to put to you; keep nothing back. And the woman said, Let my lord the king say on.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the king aunswered, and sayde vnto the woman: Hyde not from me I pray thee ye thing that I shall aske thee. And the woman sayde: Let my lord the king nowe speake.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then the king answered and said unto the woman: 'Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee.' And the woman said: 'Let my lord the king now speak.'

King James Version (1611)
Then the king answered and said vnto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall aske thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speake.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king answered, and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the matter which I ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king by all means speak.

English Revised Version
Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, aught that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the king said to the woman, "I am going to ask you something; do not conceal it from me!" "Let my lord the king speak," she replied.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng answeride, and seide to the womman, Hide thou not fro me the word which Y axe thee. And the womman seide to hym, Speke thou, my lord the kyng.

Young's Literal Translation
And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, `Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'

Update Bible Version
Then the king answered and said to the woman, Don't hide from me, I pray you, anything that I shall ask you. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the king answered and said to the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

World English Bible
Then the king answered the woman, Please don't hide anything from me that I shall ask you. The woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.

New King James Version
Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Please, let my lord the king speak."

New Living Translation
"I must know one thing," the king replied, "and tell me the truth." "Yes, my lord the king," she responded.

New Life Bible
Then the king said to the woman, "Do not hide anything from me that I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."

New Revised Standard
Then the king answered the woman, "Do not withhold from me anything I ask you." The woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then responded the king, and said unto the woman, Nay, now! do not hide from me, the thing which I am about to ask thee. And the woman said, Pray let my lord the king speak.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king answering, said to the woman: Hide not from me the thing that I ask thee. And the woman said to him: Speak, my lord the king.

Revised Standard Version
Then the king answered the woman, "Do not hide from me anything I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide anything from me that I am about to ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king please speak."

Contextual Overview

¹Joab son of Zeruiah knew that the king, deep down, still cared for Absalom. So he sent to Tekoa for a wise woman who lived there and instructed her, "Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in black and don't comb your hair, so you'll look like you've been grieving over a dead loved one for a long time. Then go to the king and tell him this..." Joab then told her exactly what to say. ⁴ The woman of Tekoa went to the king, bowed deeply before him in homage, and said, "O King, help!" ⁵He said, "How can I help?" "I'm a widow," she said. "My husband is dead. I had two sons. The two of them got into a fight out in the field and there was no one around to step between them. The one struck the other and killed him. Then the whole family ganged up against me and demanded, ‘Hand over this murderer so we can kill him for the life of the brother he murdered!' They want to wipe out the heir and snuff out the one spark of life left to me. And then there would be nothing left of my husband—not so much as a name—on the face of the earth. "So now I've dared come to the king, my master, about all this. They're making my life miserable, and I'm afraid. I said to myself, ‘I'll go to the king. Maybe he'll do something! When the king hears what's going on, he'll step in and rescue me from the abuse of the man who would get rid of me and my son and God's inheritance—the works!' As your handmaid, I decided ahead of time, ‘The word of my master, the king, will be the last word in this, for my master is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil.' God be with you!" ⁸ The king said, "Go home, and I'll take care of this for you." ⁹ "I'll take all responsibility for what happens," the woman of Tekoa said. "I don't want to compromise the king and his reputation." ¹⁰ "Bring the man who has been harassing you," the king continued. "I'll see to it that he doesn't bother you anymore." ¹¹ "Let the king invoke the name of God ," said the woman, "so this self-styled vigilante won't ruin everything, to say nothing of killing my son." "As surely as God lives," he said, "not so much as a hair of your son's head will be lost." ¹² Then she asked, "May I say one more thing to my master, the king?" He said, "Go ahead." ¹³"Why, then," the woman said, "have you done this very thing against God's people? In his verdict, the king convicts himself by not bringing home his exiled son. We all die sometime. Water spilled on the ground can't be gathered up again. But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back." The king then said, "I'm going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully." "Certainly," she said. "Let my master, the king, speak." The king said, "Is the hand of Joab mixed up in this?" "On your life, my master king, a body can't veer an inch right or left and get by with it in the royal presence! Yes, it was your servant Joab who put me up to this, and put these very words in my mouth. It was because he wanted to turn things around that your servant Joab did this. But my master is as wise as God's angels in knowing how to handle things on this earth." The king spoke to Joab. "All right, I'll do it. Go and bring the young man Absalom back." Joab bowed deeply in reverence and blessed the king. "I'm reassured to know that I'm still in your good graces and have your confidence, since the king is taking the counsel of his servant." Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. The king said, "He may return to his house, but he is not to see me face-to-face." So Absalom returned home, but was not permitted to see the king. This Absalom! There wasn't a man in all Israel talked about so much for his handsome good looks—and not a blemish on him from head to toe! When he cut his hair—he always cut it short in the spring because it had grown so heavy—the weight of the hair from his head was over two pounds! Three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter. Her name was Tamar—and she was a beauty. Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, and not once did he see the king face-to-face. He sent for Joab to get him in to see the king, but Joab still wouldn't budge. He tried a second time and Joab still wouldn't. So he told his servants, "Listen. Joab's field adjoins mine, and he has a crop of barley in it. Go set fire to it." So Absalom's servants set fire to the field. That got him moving—Joab came to Absalom at home and said, "Why did your servants set my field on fire?" Absalom answered him, "Listen, I sent for you saying, ‘Come, and soon. I want to send you to the king to ask, "What's the point of my coming back from Geshur? I'd be better off still there!" Let me see the king face-to-face. If he finds me guilty, then he can put me to death.'" Joab went to the king and told him what was going on. Absalom was then summoned—he came and bowed deeply in reverence before him. And the king kissed Absalom. ¹⁵"So now I've dared come to the king, my master, about all this. They're making my life miserable, and I'm afraid. I said to myself, ‘I'll go to the king. Maybe he'll do something! When the king hears what's going on, he'll step in and rescue me from the abuse of the man who would get rid of me and my son and God's inheritance—the works!' As your handmaid, I decided ahead of time, ‘The word of my master, the king, will be the last word in this, for my master is like an angel of God in discerning good and evil.' God be with you!" The king said, "Go home, and I'll take care of this for you." "I'll take all responsibility for what happens," the woman of Tekoa said. "I don't want to compromise the king and his reputation." "Bring the man who has been harassing you," the king continued. "I'll see to it that he doesn't bother you anymore." "Let the king invoke the name of God ," said the woman, "so this self-styled vigilante won't ruin everything, to say nothing of killing my son." "As surely as God lives," he said, "not so much as a hair of your son's head will be lost." Then she asked, "May I say one more thing to my master, the king?" He said, "Go ahead." "Why, then," the woman said, "have you done this very thing against God's people? In his verdict, the king convicts himself by not bringing home his exiled son. We all die sometime. Water spilled on the ground can't be gathered up again. But God does not take away life. He works out ways to get the exile back."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Hide not: 1 Samuel 3:17, 1 Samuel 3:18, Jeremiah 38:14, Jeremiah 38:25

Cross-References

Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.

Genesis 14:22
But Abram told the king of Sodom, "I swear to God , The High God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, this solemn oath, that I'll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I'm not going to have you go around saying, ‘I made Abram rich.' Nothing for me other than what the young men ate and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; they're to get their share of the plunder."

Ruth 3:10
He said, " God bless you, my dear daughter! What a splendid expression of love! And when you could have had your pick of any of the young men around. And now, my dear daughter, don't you worry about a thing; I'll do all you could want or ask. Everybody in town knows what a courageous woman you are—a real prize! You're right, I am a close relative to you, but there is one even closer than I am. So stay the rest of the night. In the morning, if he wants to exercise his customary rights and responsibilities as the closest covenant redeemer, he'll have his chance; but if he isn't interested, as God lives, I'll do it. Now go back to sleep until morning."

Psalms 7:17
I'm thanking God, who makes things right. I'm singing the fame of heaven-high God .

Micah 6:6
How can I stand up before God and show proper respect to the high God? Should I bring an armload of offerings topped off with yearling calves? Would God be impressed with thousands of rams, with buckets and barrels of olive oil? Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child, my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

Acts 7:48
"Yet that doesn't mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, "Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth. So what kind of house will you build me?" says God. "Where I can get away and relax? It's already built, and I built it."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the king answered and said unto the woman,.... Understanding plainly what she meant by all this, that the case she brought was a feigned one, and that the intention of it was to let him know the sense of the people with respect to Absalom, and the recall of him:

hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee; he suspected that this was not a scheme of her own, but some considerable person had formed it, and made use of her to execute it, which was what he desired to know:

and the woman said, let my lord the king now speak; ask what question he pleases, I am ready to answer.