2 Samuel 16:13

THE MESSAGE

David and his men went on down the road, while Shimei followed along on the ridge of the hill alongside, cursing, throwing stones down on them, and kicking up dirt.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei was going along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he cursed David, threw stones at him, and kicked up dust.

Hebrew Names Version
So David and his men went by the way; and Shim`i went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

King James Version
And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Lexham English Bible
Then David and his men went on the road, with Shimei going on the side of the hill beside him, cursing as he went. He threw stones beside him and threw dust in the air.

English Standard Version
So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

New Century Version
So David and his men went on down the road, but Shimei followed on the nearby hillside. He kept cursing David and throwing stones and dirt at him.

New English Translation
So David and his men went on their way. But Shimei kept going along the side of the hill opposite him, yelling curses as he threw stones and dirt at them.

Amplified Bible
So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei went along on the hillside close beside David and cursed as he went and threw stones and dust at him.

New American Standard Bible
So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei kept going on the hillside close beside him, and as he went he cursed and threw stones and dirt at him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And as Dauid and his men went by the way, Shimei went by the side of the mountaine ouer against him, and cursed as he went, & threw stones against him, and cast dust.

Legacy Standard Bible
So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him.

Contemporary English Version
David and the others went on down the road. Shimei went along the hillside by the road, cursing and throwing rocks and dirt at them.

Complete Jewish Bible
So David and his men went on their way, while on the opposite hillside Shim‘i kept pace with him, cursing, throwing stones and flinging dust as he went.

Darby Translation
And David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Easy-to-Read Version
So David and his men went on their way down the road. Shimei kept following David. He walked on the other side of the road by the side of the hill. He kept cursing David on his way. Shimei also threw stones and dirt at David.

George Lamsa Translation
And as David and his servants went on the way, Shimei walked along the mountain side opposite him and cursed him as he went and threw stones at him and cast dust at him.

Good News Translation
So David and his men continued along the road. Shimei kept up with them, walking on the hillside; he was cursing and throwing stones and dirt at them as he went.

Literal Translation
And David went with his men in the highway, and Shimei was going along at the side of the hill across from him. As he went, he cursed, and stoned with stones across from him, and dusted with dust.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
So Dauid wente on his waye with his men. But Semei wente on by the mount besyde him, and cursed, and cast stones at him, & threwe clottes of earth.

American Standard Version
So David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Bible in Basic English
So David and his men went on their way: and Shimei went by the hillside parallel with them, cursing and sending stones and dust at him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And as Dauid and his men went by the way, Semei went along on the hilles syde ouer against him, & cursed as he went, and threwe stones at him, and cast duste.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
So David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

King James Version (1611)
And as Dauid and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hilles side ouer against him, and cursed as hee went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And David and all the men with him went on the way: and Semei went by the side of the hill next to him, cursing as he went, and casting stones at him, and sprinkling him with dirt.

English Revised Version
So David and his men went by the way: and Shimei went along on the hill side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Berean Standard Bible
So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei went along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he yelled curses, threw stones, and flung dust at David.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor Dauid yede, and hise felowis, bi the weie with hym; forsothe Semey yede bi the slade of the hil `bi the side ayens hym; and curside, and sente stoonus ayens him, and spreynte erthe.

Young's Literal Translation
And David goeth with his men in the way, and Shimei is going at the side of the hill over-against him, going on, and he revileth, and stoneth with stones over-against him, and hath dusted with dust.

Update Bible Version
So David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill-side across from him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

Webster's Bible Translation
And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the hill's side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

World English Bible
So David and his men went by the way; and Shimei went along on the hill-side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust.

New King James Version
And as David and his men went along the road, Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at him and kicked up dust.

New Living Translation
So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.

New Life Bible
So David and his men went on the way. And Shimei went beside him on the hill. He spoke against David as he went, and threw stones and dust at him.

New Revised Standard
So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, throwing stones and flinging dust at him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, when David and his men went along in the way, Shimei, was going along on the side of the hill over against him, cursing as he went, pelting him with stones, and throwing dust.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And David and his men with him went by the way. And Semei by the hill’s side went over against him, cursing, and casting stones at him, and scattering earth.

Revised Standard Version
So David and his men went on the road, while Shim'e-i went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him and flung dust.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So David and his men went on the way; and Shimei went along on the hillside parallel with him and as he went he cursed and cast stones and threw dust at him.

Contextual Overview

⁵When the king got to Bahurim, a man appeared who had connections with Saul's family. His name was Shimei son of Gera. As he followed along he shouted insults and threw rocks right and left at David and his company, servants and soldiers alike. To the accompaniment of curses he shouted, "Get lost, get lost, you butcher, you hellhound! God has paid you back for all your dirty work in the family of Saul and for stealing his kingdom. God has given the kingdom to your son Absalom. Look at you now—ruined! And good riddance, you pathetic old man!" ⁹ Abishai son of Zeruiah said, "This mangy dog can't insult my master the king this way—let me go over and cut off his head!" ¹⁰ But the king said, "Why are you sons of Zeruiah always interfering and getting in the way? If he's cursing, it's because God told him, ‘Curse David.' So who dares raise questions?" ¹¹"Besides," continued David to Abishai and the rest of his servants, "my own son, my flesh and bone, is right now trying to kill me; compared to that this Benjaminite is small potatoes. Don't bother with him; let him curse; he's preaching God 's word to me. And who knows, maybe God will see the trouble I'm in today and exchange the curses for something good." ¹³ David and his men went on down the road, while Shimei followed along on the ridge of the hill alongside, cursing, throwing stones down on them, and kicking up dirt. ¹⁴ By the time they reached the Jordan River, David and all the men of the company were exhausted. There they rested and were revived.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cursed: 2 Samuel 16:5, 2 Samuel 16:6

cast dust: Heb. dusted him with dust, Acts 23:23, It was an ancient custom, in those warm and arid countries, to lay the dust before a person of distinction, by sprinkling the ground with water. Dr. Pococke and the consul were treated with this respect when they entered Cairo. The same custom is alluded to in the well-known fable of Phedrus, in which a slave is represented going before Augustus and officiously laying the dust. To throw dust in the air while a person was passing was therefore an act of great disrespect; to do so before a sovereign prince, an indecent outrage. But it is probable that Shimei meant more than disrespect and outrage to this afflicted king. Sir John Chardin informs us, that in the East, in general, those who demand justice against a criminal throw dust upon him, signifying that he ought to be put in the grave, and hence the common imprecation among the Turks and Persians, "Be covered with earth," or, "Earth be upon thy head.

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 19:21 - cursed

Cross-References

Genesis 16:1
Sarai, Abram's wife, hadn't yet produced a child. She had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram, " God has not seen fit to let me have a child. Sleep with my maid. Maybe I can get a family from her." Abram agreed to do what Sarai said.

Genesis 16:5
Sarai told Abram, "It's all your fault that I'm suffering this abuse. I put my maid in bed with you and the minute she knows she's pregnant, she treats me like I'm nothing. May God decide which of us is right."

Genesis 16:7
An angel of God found her beside a spring in the desert; it was the spring on the road to Shur. He said, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, what are you doing here?" She said, "I'm running away from Sarai my mistress."

Genesis 16:9
The angel of God said, "Go back to your mistress. Put up with her abuse." He continued, "I'm going to give you a big family, children past counting. From this pregnancy, you'll get a son: Name him Ishmael; for God heard you, God answered you. He'll be a bucking bronco of a man, a real fighter, fighting and being fought, Always stirring up trouble, always at odds with his family."

Genesis 22:14
Abraham named that place God -Yireh ( God -Sees-to-It). That's where we get the saying, "On the mountain of God , he sees to it."

Judges 6:24
Then Gideon built an altar there to God and named it " God 's Peace." It's still called that at Ophrah of Abiezer.

Proverbs 5:21
Mark well that God doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take. The shadow of your sin will overtake you; you'll find yourself stumbling all over yourself in the dark. Death is the reward of an undisciplined life; your foolish decisions trap you in a dead end.

Proverbs 15:3
God doesn't miss a thing— he's alert to good and evil alike.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And as David and his men went by the way,.... In the high road that led to Bahurim, taking no notice of the cursing of Shimei, which made him bolder and more impudent; here is a large pause in the Hebrew text, in the midst of this verse:

Shimei went along on the hill side over against him; as David and his men walked in the plain, he went on a range of hills that ran along right against them:

and cursed as he went; continued his curses and imprecations, to which he was the more emboldened by the behaviour of David and his men:

and threw stones at him, and cast dust; in a way of contempt, though the stones recoiled on his own head, and the dust flew in his own face, as the consequence of things showed; and now David composed and penned the seventh psalm, Psalms 7:1.