And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
Parallel translations
- WEB King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.
- BSB And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he had been consoled over Amnon’s death.
- NKJV And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
- NASB And the heart of King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted regarding Amnon, since he was dead.
- NLT And King David, now reconciled to Amnon’s death, longed to be reunited with his son Absalom.
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
David's heart longs to go out to Absalom, now that his grief over the dead Amnon has eased. The king's affection for his exiled son begins to draw him toward reconciliation.
Overview
As time tempers David's mourning for Amnon, his fatherly love increasingly turns toward the absent Absalom. Yet this yearning is complicated by the unaddressed guilt of Absalom's murder, leaving David torn between justice and affection. This inner conflict prepares for Joab's scheme in the next chapter to bring Absalom back without resolving the deeper issues.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Gen 24:67And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
- Gen 37:35And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
- Gen 38:12And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
- Ps 119:20My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
- Deut 28:32Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand:
- Ps 84:2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
- Gen 31:30And now, though thou wouldest needs be gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father’s house, yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods?
- Phil 2:26For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
- 2 Sam 12:19–23But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 13:39 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.