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So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!”
2 Samuel 18:28 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Ahimaaz called, and said to the king, “All is well.” He bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh your God, who has delivered up the men who lifted up their hand against my lord the king!”
  • KJV And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king.
  • BSB Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”
  • NASB Then Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well.” And he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. And he said, “Blessed is the Lord your God, who has turned over the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”
  • NLT Then Ahimaaz cried out to the king, “Everything is all right!” He bowed before the king with his face to the ground and said, “Praise to the Lord your God, who has handed over the rebels who dared to stand against my lord the king.”

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

Ahimaaz announces all is well and praises God for delivering up the rebels. He brings word of victory while avoiding Absalom's fate.

Overview

Bowing low, Ahimaaz declares the good news of triumph and blesses the LORD who handed over those who rebelled against the king. His report rightly credits God for the victory yet stops short of the painful truth. The verse models giving God glory for deliverance while leaving the hardest news for another moment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • 2 Sam 14:4When the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, showed respect, and said, “Help, O king!”
  • Gen 14:20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
  • Ps 115:1Not to us, Yahweh, not to us, but to your name give glory, for your loving kindness, and for your truth’s sake.
  • Gen 24:27He said, “Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master. As for me, Yahweh has led me on the way to the house of my master’s relatives.”
  • 2 Sam 22:27With the pure you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.
  • Ps 124:6Blessed be Yahweh, who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
  • Rev 19:1–3After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God:
  • Ps 144:1–2By David. Blessed be Yahweh, my rock, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to battle:
  • 1 Sam 26:8Then Abishai said to David, “God has delivered up your enemy into your hand today. Now therefore please let me strike him with the spear to the earth at one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”
  • 2 Sam 1:2on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn, and earth on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the earth, and showed respect.
  • Ps 31:8You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy. You have set my feet in a large place.
  • 1 Sam 24:18You have declared today how you have dealt well with me, because when Yahweh had delivered me up into your hand, you didn’t kill me.
  • 2 Chr 20:26On the fourth day, they assembled themselves in Beracah Valley, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place was called “Beracah Valley” to this day.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 2 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 2 Samuel 18:28YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 2 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 18:28 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.