“If not,” said Absalom, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.” “Why should he go with you?” the king asked.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
- KJV Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
- NKJV Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
- NASB Then Absalom said, “If not, please have my brother Amnon go with us.” But the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
- NLT “Well, then,” Absalom said, “if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?” “Why Amnon?” the king asked.
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
Absalom then asks that Amnon, at least, be allowed to go, prompting David's puzzled question. He maneuvers to ensure his intended victim attends.
Overview
Having secured the king's absence, Absalom specifically requests Amnon, the firstborn, whose presence is central to his plot. David's question, 'Why should he go with you?' hints at a faint unease, yet he does not perceive the danger. Absalom's persistence reveals his fixed determination to carry out his revenge.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Sam 11:13–15Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
- 2 Sam 3:27When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab pulled him aside into the gateway, as if to speak to him privately, and there Joab stabbed him in the stomach. So Abner died on account of the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
- 2 Sam 20:9“Are you well, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. And with his right hand Joab grabbed Amasa by the beard to kiss him.
- Ps 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 13:26 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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