She answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me! For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Don’t you do this folly.
Parallel translations
- KJV And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not thou this folly.
- BSB “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
- NKJV But she answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!
- NASB But she said to him, “No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful sin!
- NLT “No, my brother!” she cried. “Don’t be foolish! Don’t do this to me! Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Tamar pleads with Amnon not to force her, declaring such a thing is not done in Israel and is folly. She appeals to God's law and Israel's moral standards.
Overview
Tamar's courageous resistance invokes the covenant standards that set Israel apart from the nations. Her words name the act as 'folly,' a term Scripture uses for outrageous, God-defying wickedness. Her clear moral voice stands as a witness against Amnon's sin and the breakdown of righteousness in David's house.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Lev 20:17“‘If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s daughter, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness; it is a shameful thing. They shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness. He shall bear his iniquity.
- Judg 20:6I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel; for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.
- Judg 19:23The man, the master of the house, went out to them, and said to them, “No, my brothers, please don’t act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, don’t do this folly.
- Gen 34:7The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it. The men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had done folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; a thing ought not to be done.
- Lev 18:11“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.
- Lev 18:9“‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home, or born abroad.
- Prov 7:7I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,
- Prov 5:22–23The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare him. The cords of his sin hold him firmly.
- Gen 34:2Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her. He took her, lay with her, and humbled her.
- Deut 22:29then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady’s father fifty shekels of silver. She shall be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 13:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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