2 Samuel 14:15

New Life Version

I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your woman servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. It might be that the king will do what his woman servant asks.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Now therefore, I’ve come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I must speak to the king. Perhaps the king will grant his servant’s request.

Hebrew Names Version
Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

King James Version
Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

Lexham English Bible
Now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king, perhaps the king will grant the request of his servant.

English Standard Version
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid, and your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

New Century Version
My master and king, I came to say this to you because the people have made me afraid! I thought, ‘Let me talk to the king. Maybe he will do what I ask.

New English Translation
I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant asks.

Amplified Bible
"Now I came to speak of this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. So your maidservant thought, 'I will just speak to the king; perhaps the king will do what his maidservant requests.

New American Standard Bible
"Now then, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant said, 'Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his slave.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe therefore that I am come to speake of this thing vnto my lord the King, the cause is that the people haue made me afrayd: therefore thine handmayde sayd, Nowe will I speake vnto the King: it may be that the King will perfourme the request of his handmayde.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your servant-woman said, ‘Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the word of his maidservant.

Contemporary English Version
Your Majesty, I came here to tell you about my problem, because I was afraid of what someone might do to me. I decided to come to you, because I thought you could help.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now the reason I came to speak about this matter to my lord the king is that the people were intimidating me; so your servant said, ‘I will speak now to the king; maybe the king will do what his servant is asking.

Darby Translation
And now that I am come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy bondmaid said, I will now speak to the king; perhaps the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

Easy-to-Read Version
My lord and king, I came to say these words to you, because the people made me afraid. I said to myself, ‘I will talk to the king. Maybe the king will help me.

George Lamsa Translation
Now therefore if I have spoken this thing to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will deliver his handmaid from the hand of men,

Good News Translation
Now, Your Majesty, the reason I have come to speak to you is that the people threatened me, and so I said to myself that I would speak to you in the hope that you would do what I ask.

Literal Translation
And now that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, because the people made me afraid; and your servant said, Please let me speak to the king; it may be the king shall do the word of his servant.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thus am I come also to speake this to my lorde the kynge in the presence of the people, for thy handmayden thoughte: I wyll speake to the kynge, peraduenture he shall do that his handmayden sayeth,

American Standard Version
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

Bible in Basic English
And now it is my fear of the people which has made me come to say these words to my lord the king: and your servant said, I will put my cause before the king, and it may be that he will give effect to my request.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore I am come to speake of this thing vnto the my lord the king, [because] they that be of ye people haue made me afrayd: And thy handmayde sayd, Now will I speake vnto the king, it may be that the king will perfourme the request of his handmayde.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid; and thy handmaid said: I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

King James Version (1611)
Now therefore that I am come to speake of this thing vnto my lord the king, it is because the people haue made me afraid: and thy handmayd said, I will now speake vnto the king; it may bee that the king will performe the request of his handmayd.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And now whereas I came to speak this word to my lord the king, the reason is that the people will see me, and thy handmaid will say, Let one now speak to my lord the king, if peradventure the king will perform the request of his handmaid;

English Revised Version
Now therefore seeing that I am come to speak this word unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

Berean Standard Bible
Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought: I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Now therfor come thou, that Y speke to my lord the kyng this word, while the puple is present; and thin handmaide seide, Y schal speke to the kyng, if in ony maner the kyng do the word of his handmayde.

Young's Literal Translation
`And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,

Update Bible Version
Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and your slave said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his slave.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now therefore that I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king, [it is] because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

World English Bible
Now therefore seeing that I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and your handmaid said, I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

New King James Version
Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, "I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

New Living Translation
"I have come to plead with my lord the king because people have threatened me. I said to myself, ‘Perhaps the king will listen to me

New Revised Standard
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, is it that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, because the people kept putting me in fear, - so thy maidservant said - Do let me, I pray you, speak unto the king! peradventure the king will fulfil the request of his handmaid.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now therefore I am come, to speak this word to my lord the king before the people. And thy handmaid said: I will speak to the king, it maybe the king will perform the request of his handmaid.

Revised Standard Version
Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; and your handmaid thought, 'I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant.

THE MESSAGE
"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."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now the reason I have come to speak this word to my lord the king is that the people have made me afraid; so your maidservant said, 'Let me now speak to the king, perhaps the king will perform the request of his maidservant.

Contextual Overview

¹ Now Joab the son of Zeruiah saw that the king missed Absalom very much. ² So Joab sent for a wise woman from Tekoa, and said to her, "Pretend to be filled with sorrow. Dress as if you were filled with sorrow, and do not pour oil on yourself. Dress like a woman who has been filled with sorrow for the dead many days. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him in this way." And Joab told her what to say. ⁴ When the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, showing honor, and said, "Help, O king." ⁵ The king said to her, "What is your trouble?" And she answered, "I am a woman whose husband has died. ⁶ Your woman servant had two sons. But they fought together in the field and there was no one to pull them apart. So one hit the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole family has come against your woman servant. They say, ‘Give us the one who killed his brother. We must put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.' So I would be without a son to receive what belonged to his parents when I die. They would put out the last of the fire which is left to me. My husband would be left without a name and with no children on the earth." ⁸ Then the king said to the woman, "Go to your house. I will say what should be done about your trouble." ⁹ 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." ¹⁰ The king said, "If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me. And he will not touch you again."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Reciprocal: Job 9:23 - he will

Cross-References

Genesis 14:2
that they made war against Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar).

Genesis 14:3
All these joined together in the valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).

Deuteronomy 15:2
This is the way you are to do it: Every man who has loaned money must forget the debt. He cannot make his neighbor and his brother pay it because the Lord has said that all should be forgotten.

1 Kings 15:18
Then Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the storerooms of the Lord's house and the king's house, and gave them to his servants. King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. Asa said,

Psalms 112:5
Good will come to the man who is ready to give much, and fair in what he does.

Acts 9:2
He asked for letters to be written to the Jewish places of worship in the city of Damascus. The letters were to say that if he found any men or women following the Way of Christ he might bring them to Jerusalem in chains.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king,.... Of the case of Absalom, under a feigned one of hers:

[it is] because the people have made me afraid; having heard of their whisperings, murmurings, and uneasiness among them, because Absalom was not sent for home, fearing there would be an insurrection in the nation, or an invasion of it by Absalom at the request of his friends; in which he might be supported by the king of Geshur; or however that disputes would arise about the succession, at the death of David; on these accounts she determined to speak to the king, and him them to him in the manner she had done; though some understand this of the discouragement the people laid her under, telling her the king would not hear her; nevertheless she was resolved to make trial:

and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be the king will perform the request of his handmaid; not only with respect to her own son, as feigned; but with respect to Absalom, the grand thing in view.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The people have made me afraid - She pretends still that her suit was a real one, and that she was in fear of the people (“the whole family,” 2 Samuel 14:7) setting upon her and her son.