2 Samuel 19:38

38 The king answered, "Khimham will cross with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you. Whatever you ask of me, I will do for you."

2 Samuel 19:38 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 19:38

And the king answered, Chimham shall go over with me
He admitted of him instead of his father:

and I will do unto him that which shall seem good unto thee;
he puts it to Barzillai, and leaves it with him to ask what he would for his son, and he would grant it. We nowhere read what it was that Barzillai asked, or whether he asked anything; only this we read, that some hundreds of years afterward there was a place called the habitation of Chimham near Bethlehem, ( Jeremiah 41:17 ) ; which makes it probable that David gave him a paternal estate of his there, since Bethlehem was his city; and the Targum on that place is expressly for it; (See Gill on Jeremiah 41:17):

and whatsoever thou shalt require of me, [that] will I do for thee;
whatever suit he should make to him, or whatever favour he should ask of him hereafter, when returned to his own city, he would grant it to him, if it could be possibly done; such a sense should he always retain of his kindness to him.

2 Samuel 19:38 In-Context

36 Your servant only wants to cross the Yarden with the king; why should the king reward this so generously?
37 Please, just let your servant go back and die in my own city, near the grave of my father and mother. But here is your servant Khimham; let him cross with my lord the king; and do for him whatever seems good to you."
38 The king answered, "Khimham will cross with me, and I will do for him whatever seems good to you. Whatever you ask of me, I will do for you."
39 So all the people crossed the Yarden; and the king crossed too. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him; then he returned to his home.
40 The king crossed over to Gilgal, and Khimham crossed with him. All the people of Y'hudah brought the king across, as did half the people of Isra'el.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.