2 Samuel 14:9

9 And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord the king, this wickedness be on me, and on the house of my father; forsooth (let) the king and his throne be innocent/be guiltless.

2 Samuel 14:9 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 14:9

And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, my lord and king,
&c.] With much vehemence, and yet with great respect, fearing an inquisition into her case; which it would not bear, being a fable, and being very desirous of having sentence on it immediately pronounced:

the iniquity [be] on me and on my father's house;
let the crime be imputed to me and my family, and punishment inflicted on us for it, if I have misrepresented the case, told lies, and deceived the king:

and the king and his throne [be] guiltless;
let neither he nor his kingdom be charged with any sin, or suffer any damage on that account: or else the sense is, supposing that the king through much business should forget and neglect this affair; and her son should be put to death, through the violence and rage of the family; then she wishes that the fault and punishment of such neglect might not fall upon the king and his kingdom, but upon her and her family: in this form she put it, for the honour of the king, and because she would not be thought to wish ill to him and his kingdom; yet tacitly suggests, that should this be the case, he and his kingdom must expect to answer and suffer for it.

2 Samuel 14:9 In-Context

7 And lo! all the kindred riseth against thine handmaid, and saith, Give thou him to us that killed his brother, that we slay him, for the life of his brother whom he killed, and that we do away the heir; and they seek to quench my spark that is left, that the name dwell not to mine husband, and that remnants be not to him on earth. (And lo! all the kinsmen riseth against thy servantess, and saith, Give thou to us he who killed his brother, so that we can kill him for taking his brother's life, and so that we can do away the heir; yea, they seek to quench what is left of my spark, so that my husband's name not remain, and that there be no remnant of him left here on the earth.)
8 And the king said to the woman, Go into thine house, and I shall (give a) command for thee.
9 And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, My lord the king, this wickedness be on me, and on the house of my father; forsooth (let) the king and his throne be innocent/be guiltless.
10 And the king said, Bring thou him to me, that against-saith thee, and he shall no more add to (it,) that he touch thee.
11 And she said, The king have mind on his Lord God, and the next (kins)men of blood to take vengeance be not multiplied, and they shall not slay my son. And the king said, The Lord liveth, for none of the hairs of thy son shall fall upon the earth. (And she said, May the king pray to the Lord his God, that the kinsmen who be next of blood, and who desire vengeance, be not able to take it, and so they shall not kill my son. And the king said, As the Lord liveth, none of the hairs of thy son shall fall on the ground!)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.