2 Samuel 14:9

THE MESSAGE

"I'll take all responsibility for what happens," the woman of Tekoa said. "I don't want to compromise the king and his reputation."

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the woman of Tekoa said to the king, “My lord the king, may any blame be on me and my father’s family, and may the king and his throne be innocent.”

Hebrew Names Version
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

King James Version
And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.

Lexham English Bible
The Tekoite woman said to the king, "On me, my lord the king, is the guilt, and on the house of my father, but the king on his throne is innocent."

English Standard Version
And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless."

New Century Version
The woman of Tekoa said to him, "Let the blame be on me and my father's family. My master and king, you and your throne are innocent."

New English Translation
The Tekoan woman said to the king, "My lord the king, let any blame fall on me and on the house of my father. But let the king and his throne be innocent!"

Amplified Bible
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, O king, the guilt is on me and on my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."

New American Standard Bible
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, the king, the guilt is on me and my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the woman of Tekoah said vnto the King, My lord, O King, this trespas be on me, & on my fathers house, and the King and his throne be giltlesse.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "O my lord, the king, the iniquity is on me and my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."

Contemporary English Version
The woman said, "I hope your decision doesn't cause any problems for you. But if it does, you can blame me."

Complete Jewish Bible
The woman of T'koa said to the king, "My lord, king, let the guilt be on me and my father's family; the king and his throne be guiltless."

Darby Translation
And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

Easy-to-Read Version
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "Let the blame be on me, my lord and king. You and your kingdom are innocent."

George Lamsa Translation
But the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord, O king, let this iniquity be on me and on my fathers house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

Good News Translation
"Your Majesty," she said, "whatever you do, my family and I will take the blame; you and the royal family are innocent."

Literal Translation
And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne shall be guiltless.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the woman of Thecoa saide vnto ye kynge: The trespace be vpon me (my lorde ye kynge) and vpon my fathers house: but the kynge and his seate be vngiltye.

American Standard Version
And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

Bible in Basic English
And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, may the sin be on me and on my family, and may the king and the seat of his kingdom be clear of sin!

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the woman of Thekoa saide vnto the king: My lorde O king, this trespasse be on me and on my fathers house: and the king and his throne be giltlesse.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king: 'My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.'

King James Version (1611)
And the woman of Tekoah said vnto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquitie bee on mee, and on my fathers house: and the king and his throne bee guiltlesse.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the woman of Thecoe said to the king, On me, my lord, O king, and on my father’s house be the iniquity, and the king and his throne be guiltless.

English Revised Version
And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father’s house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.

Berean Standard Bible
But the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord the king, may any blame be on me and my father's house, and may the king and his throne be guiltless."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the womman of Thecua seide to the kyng, My lord the kyng, this wickidnesse be on me, and on the hows of my fadir; forsothe the kyng and his trone be innocent.

Young's Literal Translation
And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, `On me, my lord, O king, [is] the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne [are] innocent.'

Update Bible Version
And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be innocent.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity [be] on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne [be] guiltless.

World English Bible
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house; and the king and his throne be guiltless.

New King James Version
And the woman of Tekoa said to the king, "My lord, O king, let the iniquity be on me and on my father's house, and the king and his throne be guiltless."

New Living Translation
"Oh, thank you, my lord the king," the woman from Tekoa replied. "If you are criticized for helping me, let the blame fall on me and on my father's house, and let the king and his throne be innocent."

New Life Bible
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "O my lord the king, the sin is on me and my father's family. But the king and his throne are without guilt."

New Revised Standard
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said the woman of Tekoa unto the king, Upon me, my lord, O king, be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father, - but, the king and his throne, be guiltless.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the woman of Thecua said to the king: Upon me, my lord be the iniquity, and upon the house of my father: but may the king and his throne be guiltless.

Revised Standard Version
And the woman of Teko'a said to the king, "On me be the guilt, my lord the king, and on my father's house; let the king and his throne be guiltless."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The woman of Tekoa said to the king, "O my lord, the king, the iniquity is on me and my father's house, but the king and his throne are guiltless."

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

the iniquity: Genesis 27:13, 1 Samuel 25:24, Matthew 27:25

and the king: 2 Samuel 3:28, 2 Samuel 3:29, Numbers 35:33, Deuteronomy 21:1-9, 1 Kings 2:33

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, my lord and king,.... With much vehemence, and yet with great respect, fearing an inquisition into her case; which it would not bear, being a fable, and being very desirous of having sentence on it immediately pronounced:

the iniquity [be] on me and on my father's house; let the crime be imputed to me and my family, and punishment inflicted on us for it, if I have misrepresented the case, told lies, and deceived the king:

and the king and his throne [be] guiltless; let neither he nor his kingdom be charged with any sin, or suffer any damage on that account: or else the sense is, supposing that the king through much business should forget and neglect this affair; and her son should be put to death, through the violence and rage of the family; then she wishes that the fault and punishment of such neglect might not fall upon the king and his kingdom, but upon her and her family: in this form she put it, for the honour of the king, and because she would not be thought to wish ill to him and his kingdom; yet tacitly suggests, that should this be the case, he and his kingdom must expect to answer and suffer for it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The iniquity be on me ... - Compare the principle in Genesis 9:5-6; Numbers 35:30-34. The woman therefore says, if there is any such guilt in sparing my son, may it rest upon me and my house, not on David and his throne. Compare 2 Samuel 3:28. The cunning speech of the woman extracted a more direct promise of protection from the king 2 Samuel 14:1.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 14:9. The iniquity be on me — She intimates that, if the king should suppose that the not bringing the offender to the assigned punishment might reflect on the administration of justice in the land, she was willing that all blame should attach to her and her family, and the king and his throne be guiltless.