Now it came about after this that Absalom provided for himself a chariot and 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.
- BSB Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.
- NKJV After this it happened that Absalom provided himself with chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before 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 1:5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” Then he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
- 1 Sam 8:11He said, “This will be the way of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them as his servants, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they will run before his chariots.
- 2 Sam 12:11“This is what Yahweh says: ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
- Ps 20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we trust the name of Yahweh our God.
- Prov 17:19He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.
- 1 Kgs 1:33The king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
- Prov 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- 1 Kgs 10:26–29Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he kept in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
- Deut 17:16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.”
- Jer 22:14–16who says, ‘I will build me a wide house and spacious rooms,’ and cuts out windows for himself; and it is ceiling with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
- Prov 11:2When pride comes, then comes shame, 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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