2 Samuel 16:11

11 Then David spoke to Abishai and all of his officials. He said, "My very own son Absalom is trying to kill me. How much more should this man from Benjamin want to kill me! Leave him alone. Let him call down curses. The LORD has told him to do it.

2 Samuel 16:11 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 16:11

And David said to Abishai, and all his servants
In order to make them easy, and reconcile them to this usage of him:

behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life;
meaning Absalom:

how much more now [may this] Benjamite [do it]?
who was not only of the same tribe that Saul was, but of the same family, and so bore an ill will to David because of his succession in the throne:

let him alone, and let him curse;
do nothing to restrain him, not even by words, and much less by any violent actions, and still less by taking away his life:

for the Lord hath bidden him;
in the sense explained in ( 2 Samuel 16:10 ) .

2 Samuel 16:11 In-Context

9 Then Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, spoke to the king. He said, "King David, why should we let this dead dog call down curses on you? Let me go over there. I'll cut off his head."

10 But the king said, "You and Joab are sons of Zeruiah. What do you and I have in common? Maybe the LORD said to him, 'Call down curses on David.' If he did, who can ask him, 'Why are you doing this?' "

11 Then David spoke to Abishai and all of his officials. He said, "My very own son Absalom is trying to kill me. How much more should this man from Benjamin want to kill me! Leave him alone. Let him call down curses. The LORD has told him to do it.

12 Maybe the LORD will see how much I'm suffering. Maybe he'll reward me with good things in place of the curses that are being called down on me today."

13 So David and his men kept going along the road. At the same time, Shimei was going along the hillside across from him. He was calling down curses as he went. He was throwing stones at David. He was showering him with dirt.