Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

And the king said unto them, what seemeth you best I will do,.... Which was an instance of great condescension in him; and it was his wisdom and prudence to yield to them at such a time as this, and especially as their sentiments were founded on affection and loyalty to him:

and the king stood by the gate side; of the city of Mahanaim:

and all the people came out by hundreds, and by thousands; and passed by him, to whom no doubt he gave his blessing and best wishes; and, as Abarbinel thinks, now it was he composed and said the twentieth psalm, "The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble", &c. Psalm 20:1.

John Trapp Complete Commentary

2 Samuel 18:4 And the king said unto them, What seemeth you best I will do. And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people came out by hundreds and by thousands.

Ver. 4. What seemeth you best I will do.] So meekly doth David submit himself to the will of his men. Affliction and meekness grow both on the same root in the holy tongue. "A man of understanding is of an excellent" - or, of a cool - "spirit." [Proverbs 17:27]

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

By the gate side, i.e. between the two gates of the city, as it is expressed below, 2 Samuel 18:24.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(4) What seemeth you best.—David was nothing loth to avoid the personal encounter with his son, and readily yielded, He, however, encouraged the troops by reviewing them as they passed out, and improved the opportunity to give his generals special and public charge concerning Absalom. He speaks of him tenderly as “the young man” (2 Samuel 18:5; comp. 2 Samuel 18:29; 2 Samuel 18:32), to imply that his sin was a youthful indiscretion.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

by the gate

24; Isaiah 28:6

by hundreds

David's small company, by this time, was greatly recruited; but what its number was we cannot tell. Josephus says it amounted only to 4,000 men.

1; 1 Samuel 29:2