2 Samuel 19:8

8 Then the king got up, and went and sat near the city gate. His men heard that he was there, and they all gathered around him. Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their own hometowns.

2 Samuel 19:8 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 19:8

Than the king arose, and sat in the gate
Of the city, a public place, where the inhabitants met on divers accounts at times, and where there were always people passing and repassing:

and they told unto all the people;
or it was reported to the soldiers particularly:

saying, behold the king doth sit in the gate;
has laid aside his mourning, appears in public, and receives his friends, and attends to business:

and all the people came before the king;
to congratulate him on the victory obtained, to receive his thanks and his favours:

for Israel had fled every man to his tent:
or to his city, as the Targum; that is, those that followed Absalom; which is observed not on account of what goes before, but of what follows after; see ( 2 Samuel 18:17 ) .

2 Samuel 19:8 In-Context

6 You oppose those who love you and support those who hate you! You have made it clear that your officers and men mean nothing to you. I can see that you would be quite happy if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead.

7 Now go and reassure your men. I swear by the Lord's name that if you don't, not one of them will be with you by tomorrow morning. That would be the worst disaster you have suffered in all your life."

8 Then the king got up, and went and sat near the city gate. His men heard that he was there, and they all gathered around him. Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their own hometowns.

9 All over the country they started quarreling among themselves. "King David saved us from our enemies," they said to one another. "He rescued us from the Philistines, but now he has fled from Absalom and left the country.

10 We anointed Absalom as our king, but he has been killed in battle. So why doesn't somebody try to bring King David back?"