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The Blue Letter Bible

2 Samuel 16 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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David and Ziba

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:1

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:1 - When David had gone a little beyond the summit of the Mount of Olives, Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth,[fn] was waiting there for him. He had two donkeys loaded with 200 loaves of bread, 100 clusters of raisins, 100 bunches of summer fruit, and a wineskin full of wine.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:2

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:2 - “What are these for?” the king asked Ziba.
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s people to ride on, and the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat. The wine is for those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:3

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:3 - “And where is Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson?” the king asked him.
“He stayed in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied. “He said, ‘Today I will get back the kingdom of my grandfather Saul.’”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:4

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:4 - “In that case,” the king told Ziba, “I give you everything Mephibosheth owns.”
“I bow before you,” Ziba replied. “May I always be pleasing to you, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:5

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:5 - As King David came to Bahurim, a man came out of the village cursing them. It was Shimei son of Gera, from the same clan as Saul’s family.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:6

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:6 - He threw stones at the king and the king’s officers and all the mighty warriors who surrounded him.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:7

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:7 - “Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:8

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:8 - “The LORD is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the LORD has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:9

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:9 - “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?” Abishai son of Zeruiah demanded. “Let me go over and cut off his head!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:10

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:10 - “No!” the king said. “Who asked your opinion, you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who are you to stop him?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:11

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:11 - Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul[fn] have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to do it.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:12

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:12 - And perhaps the LORD will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:13

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:13 - So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing as he went and throwing stones at David and tossing dust into the air.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:14

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:14 - The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River.[fn]
Ahithophel Advises Absalom

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:15

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:15 - Meanwhile, Absalom and all the army of Israel arrived at Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:16

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:16 - When David’s friend Hushai the Arkite arrived, he went immediately to see Absalom. “Long live the king!” he exclaimed. “Long live the king!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:17

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:17 - “Is this the way you treat your friend David?” Absalom asked him. “Why aren’t you with him?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:18

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:18 - “I’m here because I belong to the man who is chosen by the LORD and by all the men of Israel,” Hushai replied.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:19

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:19 - “And anyway, why shouldn’t I serve you? Just as I was your father’s adviser, now I will be your adviser!”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:20

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:20 - Then Absalom turned to Ahithophel and asked him, “What should I do next?”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:21

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:21 - Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.”

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:22

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:22 - So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.

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Unchecked Copy Box 2Sa 16:23

Unchecked Copy Box2Sa 16:23 - Absalom followed Ahithophel’s advice, just as David had done. For every word Ahithophel spoke seemed as wise as though it had come directly from the mouth of God.
See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NLT Footnotes
Mephibosheth is another name for Merib-baal.
Hebrew this Benjaminite.
As in Greek version (see also 17:16); Hebrew reads when they reached their destination.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Full copyright information is provided here. Visit the New Living Translation website.

For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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2 Samuel Chapter 16 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras