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Read the Bible

New Life Version

2 Samuel 14:6

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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Absalom;   Avenger of Blood;   David;   Dishonesty;   Intercession;   Joab;   Kindness;   Obsequiousness;   Parables;   Tact;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Parables;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Absalom;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Allegory;   Mediator, Mediation;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Court Systems;   Jonah;   King, Kingship;   Maid, Maiden;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Parable;   Priests and Levites;   Samuel, Books of;   Wisdom;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Absalom;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jo'ab;   Law of Moses;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Goel;   Handmaid;   Part;   Samuel, Books of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Absalom;   Parable;   Poetry;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
Hebrew Names Version
Your handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one struck the other, and killed him.
King James Version
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
Lexham English Bible
Your servant had two sons, and they both fought in the open field, and there was no one to part them. One struck the other and killed him.
English Standard Version
And your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
New Century Version
I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting, and no one was there to stop them. So one son killed the other son.
New English Translation
Your servant has two sons. When the two of them got into a fight in the field, there was no one present who could intervene. One of them struck the other and killed him.
Amplified Bible
"Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled and fought in the field. There was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him.
New American Standard Bible
"And your servant had two sons, but the two of them fought in the field, and there was no one to save them from each other, so one struck the other and killed him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And thine handmayd had two sonnes, & they two stroue together in the fielde: (and there was none to part them) so the one smote the other, and slew him.
Legacy Standard Bible
And your servant-woman had two sons, but the two of them struggled together in the field, and there was no one to deliver between them, so one struck the other and put him to death.
Contemporary English Version
I had two sons, but they got into a fight out in a field where there was no one to pull them apart, and one of them killed the other.
Complete Jewish Bible
my two sons were out in the field; and they got into a fight with each other. There was no one to separate them, and one hit the other and killed him.
Darby Translation
And thy bondmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.
Easy-to-Read Version
I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting. There was no one to stop them. One son killed the other son.
George Lamsa Translation
And your handmaid had two sons, and they two quarrelled together in the field, and there was none to part them, and one was stronger than the other and slew him.
Good News Translation
Sir, I had two sons, and one day they got into a quarrel out in the fields, where there was no one to separate them, and one of them killed the other.
Literal Translation
And your servant had two sons. And the two of them fought in the field, and there was no deliverer between them. And the one struck the other, and killed him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And thy handmayde had two sonnes, which stroue together in the felde: and whyle there was noman to parte the a sunder, the one smote the other, and slewe him.
American Standard Version
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.
Bible in Basic English
And I had two sons, and the two of them had a fight in the field, and there was no one to come between them, and one with a blow put the other to death.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And thy hande mayde had two sonnes, and they two fought together in the fielde, where was no man to go betweene them, but the one smote the other, and slue him.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.
King James Version (1611)
And thy handmayd had two sonnes, and they two stroue together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And moreover thy handmaid had two sons, and they fought together in the field, and there was no one to part them; and the one smote the other his brother, and slew him.
English Revised Version
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.
Berean Standard Bible
And your maidservant had two sons who were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and tweyne sones weren of thin handmayde, whiche debatiden ayens hem silf in the feeld, and `noon was that myyte forbede hem, and oon smoot `the tother, and killide hym.
Young's Literal Translation
and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death;
Update Bible Version
And your female slave had two sons, and both of them strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and killed him.
Webster's Bible Translation
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and [there was] none to part them, but the one smote the other and slew him.
World English Bible
Your handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one struck the other, and killed him.
New King James Version
Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him.
New Living Translation
My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed.
New Revised Standard
Your servant had two sons, and they fought with one another in the field; there was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, thy maidservant, had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, with none to tear them apart, - so the one smote the other, and slew him.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And thy handmaid had two sons: and they quarrelled with each other in the field, and there was none to part them: and the one struck the other, and slew him.
Revised Standard Version
And your handmaid had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field; there was no one to part them, and one struck the other and killed him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Your maidservant had two sons, but the two of them struggled together in the field, and there was no one to separate them, so one struck the other and killed him.

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

and they two: Genesis 4:8, Exodus 2:13, Deuteronomy 22:26, Deuteronomy 22:27

none to part: Heb. no deliverer between

Reciprocal: Genesis 27:45 - why Exodus 21:18 - men Judges 18:28 - And there 1 Kings 11:29 - and they two Psalms 7:2 - while Ecclesiastes 4:10 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 14:20
Honor and thanks be to God Most High, Who has given into your hand those who fought against you." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all he had taken.
Genesis 16:7
The angel of the Lord found Hagar by a well of water in the desert on the way to Shur.
Genesis 21:21
While living in the desert of Paran, his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Genesis 36:8
So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir. Esau is Edom.
Numbers 10:12
The people of Israel moved on from the Desert of Sinai. Then the cloud came down and rested in the desert of Paran.
Numbers 12:16
The people moved from Hazeroth after that. And they set up their tents in the desert of Paran.
Numbers 13:3
So Moses sent them from the desert of Paran, as the Lord had told him. All of the men were heads of the people of Israel.
Deuteronomy 2:12
The Horites once lived in Seir also. But the sons of Esau took their place. They destroyed them and took the land for themselves, as Israel did to the land which the Lord gave them for their own.)
Habakkuk 3:3
God comes from Teman. The Holy One comes from Mount Paran. His shining-greatness covers the heavens, and the earth is full of His praise.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And thy handmaid had two sons,.... Two are observed, that her case might suit with Amnon and Absalom:

and they two strove together in the field; they quarrelled, and fought in the field, where there were no witnesses of what they did to each other; whereby she would suggest that Ammon was killed in the field, of which there were no witnesses, and therefore Absalom ought not to die; whereas it was in Absalom's house, at his table, and where the rest of the king's sons were present, and witnesses of it:

and [there was] none to part them; which, had there been, might have prevented the sad disaster; this, as Abarbinel thinks, is pointed at David, who when Amnon forced Tamar, did not correct him for it, nor seek to make peace between the brethren, and hence followed what had happened:

but the one smote the other, and slew him; as say the accusers of him that is living; for the fable supposes there was none with them; however, she suggests, as the above writer observes, that one gave the first blow, and so was the aggressor; and that he that was smitten rose up in his own defence, and in his passion slew him that smote him; which is observed to lessen the crime, and to intimate that Amnon was the aggressor, who first began the sin and quarrel, in ravishing Tamar, and so reproaching Absalom; and therefore his blood was upon his own head.


 
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