Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two years, but he never got to see the king.
Parallel translations
- WEB Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, and he didn’t see the king’s face.
- KJV So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.
- BSB Now Absalom lived in Jerusalem two years without seeing the face of the king.
- NKJV And Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face.
- NASB Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, yet he did not see the king’s face.
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 lives two years in Jerusalem still barred from the king's presence. The prolonged estrangement deepens his frustration.
Overview
For two full years Absalom remains in the capital yet excluded from his father, a humiliating limbo. David's continued refusal to receive him leaves the breach unhealed. This festering alienation, the fruit of incomplete reconciliation, pushes Absalom toward the desperate and manipulative actions that follow.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
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 14:28 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.