2 Samuel 16:9

9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head."

2 Samuel 16:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 16:9

Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king
A sister's son of his, and a general in the army, who could not bear to hear the king abused in this manner:

why should this dead dog curse my lord the king?
be suffered to do it with impunity; a "dog" he calls him, because of his vileness and baseness, and because of his impudence, and on account of his reproachful and abusive language, aptly signified by the snarling and barking of a dog; and a "dead" dog, as being useless, detestable, and abominable:

let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head;
go over the plain where David and his men were, to the hill on which Shimei was, and strike off his head with his sword; which he could easily do, and soon put an end to his cursing.

2 Samuel 16:9 In-Context

7 And thus said Shimei when he cursed, "Come out, come out, thou bloody man and thou man of Belial!

8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son. And behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man."

9 Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head."

10 And the king said, "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, `Curse David.' Who shall then say, `Why hast thou done so?'"

11 And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Behold, my son, who came forth from my loins, seeketh my life. How much more now may this Benjamite do it? Let him alone and let him curse, for the LORD hath bidden him.