Passage

2 Samuel 15.16

Book: 2 Samuel · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"14. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for else none of us shall escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. 15. And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall choose."

"16. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, that were concubines, to keep the house."

"17. And the king went forth, and all the people after him; and they tarried in Beth-merhak. 18. And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men that came after him from Gath, passed on before the king." (2 Samuel 15:14-18, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"14. David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, and let us flee; or else none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry to depart, lest he overtake us quickly, and bring down evil on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.” 15. The king’s servants said to the king, “Behold, your servants are ready to do whatever my lord the king chooses.”"

"16. The king went out, and all his household after him. The king left ten women, who were concubines, to keep the house."

"17. The king went out, and all the people after him; and they stayed in Beth Merhak. 18. All his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came after him from Gath, passed on before the king." (2 Samuel 15:14-18, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"14. And David said unto all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword. ^{bring: Heb. thrust} 15. And the king's servants said unto the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint. ^{appoint: Heb. choose}"

"16. And the king went forth, and all his household after him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines, to keep the house. ^{after: Heb. at his feet}"

"17. And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off. 18. And all his servants passed on beside him; and all the Cherethites, and all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites, six hundred men which came after him from Gath, passed on before the king." (2 Samuel 15:14-18, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"14. And David saith to all his servants who [are] with him in Jerusalem, 'Rise, and we flee, for we have no escape from the face of Absalom; haste to go, lest he hasten, and have overtaken us, and forced on us evil, and smitten the city by the mouth of the sword.' 15. And the servants of the king say unto the king, 'According to all that my lord the king chooseth, lo, thy servants [do].'"

"16. And the king goeth out, and all his household at his feet, and the king leaveth ten women, concubines, to keep the house."

"17. And the king goeth out, and all the people at his feet, and they stand still at the farthest off house. 18. And all his servants are passing on at his side, and all the Cherethite, and all the Pelethite, and all the Gittites, six hundred men who came at his feet from Gath, are passing on at the front of the king." (2 Samuel 15:14-18, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

TBD
TBD
TBD
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Quoted in

Wives or Concubines in 2 Samuel

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.