Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.
Parallel translations
- WEB After this, Absalom prepared a chariot and horses for himself, and fifty men to run before him.
- KJV And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
- NKJV After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
- NASB Now it came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- NLT After this, Absalom bought a chariot and horses, and he hired fifty bodyguards to run ahead of him.
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 acquires a chariot, horses, and fifty runners to project royal grandeur. He begins building a public image as a king-in-waiting.
Overview
Now fully restored, Absalom immediately stages a royal entourage to impress the people. The display, reminiscent of the trappings Samuel warned kings would seize (1 Samuel 8:11), reveals his ambition for the throne. This calculated self-promotion launches the slow, deliberate campaign by which he will steal the kingdom from his father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Kgs 1:5At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying, “I will be king!” And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- 1 Sam 8:11He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.
- 2 Sam 12:11This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
- Ps 20:7Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
- Prov 17:19He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his gate high invites destruction.
- 1 Kgs 1:33“Take my servants with you,” said the king. “Set my son Solomon on my own mule and take him down to Gihon.
- Prov 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- 1 Kgs 10:26–29Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
- Deut 17:16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’
- Jer 22:14–16who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
- Prov 11:2When pride comes, disgrace follows, but with humility comes wisdom.
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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 15:1 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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