2 Samuel 14:21

21 So the king said to Joab, "All right then. I will do it. Go and bring back my boy Absalom."

2 Samuel 14:21 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 14:21

And the king said unto Joab
Who was present, or but at a little distance, waiting the issue of this affair:

behold now I have done this thing;
have agreed to recall Absalom, at the suit of this woman, which thou hast put her upon; or, according to the textual reading, "thou hast done this thing" ^F18; contrived this scheme, to let me know the mind of the people with respect to Absalom, or to represent to me the propriety of sending for him home:

go, therefore, bring the young man Absalom again;
I give my consent to it, and you may send for him, or fetch him as soon as you please; it is thought he calls him a young man, to extenuate his crime, that it was done in youthful heat and passion, and therefore he should pass it over.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 (tyve) "fecisti", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

2 Samuel 14:21 In-Context

19 So the king said, "Has Joab put you up to this?" The woman answered, "As surely as you live, my master and king, no one can deviate a bit from whatever my master and king says. Yes, it was your servant Joab who directed me, and it was Joab who told your female servant to say all these things.

20 Your servant Joab did this to change the way things look. But my master's wisdom is like the wisdom of one of God's own messengers—he knows everything that takes place in the land."

21 So the king said to Joab, "All right then. I will do it. Go and bring back my boy Absalom."

22 Joab fell facedown, bowing low out of respect, and he blessed the king. "Today your servant knows that you think well of me, my master and king," Joab said, "because the king has followed up on his servant's recommendation."

23 So Joab got up, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.