But the king covered his face and cried out at the top of his voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Parallel translations
- WEB The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!”
- KJV But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
- NKJV But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- NASB And the king covered his face and cried out with a loud voice, “My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son!”
- NLT The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
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
David covered his face and wailed aloud for his dead son Absalom. It matters because his cry reveals a father's anguish over a rebellious child whom he could not save.
Overview
David's repeated lament, 'My son Absalom,' expresses raw, inconsolable grief over the son who had betrayed him yet whom he still loved. His sorrow recalls God's own grief over sinful, rebellious people. Yet unlike David, who could not rescue his son, the Father gave His own Son so that rebels might be reconciled and live.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 2 Sam 18:33The king was shaken and went up to the gate chamber and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- 2 Sam 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
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 19:4 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.