2 Samuel 16:9

9 Avishai the son of Tz'ruyah said to the king, "Why allow this dead dog to curse my lord the king? Just let me go over and remove 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 When Shim'i cursed, he said, "Get out of here! Get out of here, you killer, you good-for-nothing!

8 ADONAI has brought back on you all the blood of the house of Sha'ul. You usurped his kingship, but ADONAI has handed over the kingdom to Avshalom your son. Now your own evil has overtaken you, because you are a man of blood!"

9 Avishai the son of Tz'ruyah said to the king, "Why allow this dead dog to curse my lord the king? Just let me go over and remove his head!"

10 The king said, "Do you sons of Tz'ruyah and I have anything in common? Let him curse. If ADONAI tells him, 'Curse David,' who has the right to ask, 'Why are you doing it?'"

11 David then said to Avishai and all his servants, "Look, my own son, who came from my own body, seeks my life. So how much more now this Binyamini! Let him alone; and let him curse, if ADONAI told him to.