2 Samuel 13:13

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."

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."

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."

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 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 David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. And Amnon, her half brother, fell desperately in love with her. ² Amnon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill. She was a virgin, and Amnon thought he could never have her. ³ But Amnon had a very crafty friend—his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David's brother Shimea. ⁴ One day Jonadab said to Amnon, "What's the trouble? Why should the son of a king look so dejected morning after morning?" So Amnon told him, "I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister." ⁵ "Well," Jonadab said, "I'll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you'll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands." ⁶ So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the king came to see him, Amnon asked him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and cook my favorite dish as I watch. Then I can eat it from her own hands." ⁷ So David agreed and sent Tamar to Amnon's house to prepare some food for him. ⁸ When Tamar arrived at Amnon's house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him. ⁹ But when she set the serving tray before him, he refused to eat. "Everyone get out of here," Amnon told his servants. So they all left. ¹⁰ Then he said to Tamar, "Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here." So Tamar took his favorite dish to him.

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 God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence.

Genesis 10:9
Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, "This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world."

Genesis 13:4
This was the same place where Abram had built the altar, and there he worshiped the Lord again.

Genesis 13:6
But the land could not support both Abram and Lot with all their flocks and herds living so close together.

Genesis 13:8
Finally Abram said to Lot, "Let's not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives!

Genesis 13:9
The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I'll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I'll go to the left."

Genesis 13:11
Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram.

Genesis 15:16
After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction."

Genesis 18:20
So the Lord told Abraham, "I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant.

Genesis 38:7
But Er was a wicked man in the Lord 's sight, so the Lord took his life.

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.