But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?
Parallel translations
- WEB Barzillai said to the king, “How many are the days of the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
- KJV And Barzillai said unto the king, How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king unto Jerusalem?
- NKJV But Barzillai said to the king, “How long have I to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
- NASB But Barzillai said to the king, “How long do I still have to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
- NLT “No,” he replied, “I am far too old to go with the king to Jerusalem.
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
Barzillai asked how many years he had left that he should go up to Jerusalem with the king. It matters because his humble realism about old age shaped his gracious refusal.
Overview
Aware that his remaining days were few, Barzillai gently questioned whether court life suited a man so near the end. His response shows a sober, contented acceptance of life's limits. The verse models wisdom that values nearness to home and grave over worldly honor in one's final years.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Jas 4:14You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
- 1 Cor 7:29What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
- Ps 39:5–6You, indeed, have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing before You. Truly each man at his best exists as but a breath. Selah
- Job 14:14When a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, until my renewal comes.
- Gen 47:8–9“How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 19:34 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.