2 Samuel · 23 verses
2 Samuel 16
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
Ahithophel’s advice is treated like the word of God, and the first counsel shown is to put a tent on the palace roof and make a public spectacle of the king’s concubines.
Donkeys, provisions, and a kingdom allegedly reclaimedvv. 1–4
Just beyond the summit, Ziba arrives with an emergency pantry so precisely counted that the wilderness seems to have been catered: two hundred loaves, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and one skin of wine. He says the donkeys are for the household, the food for the young men, and the wine for the exhausted. Then comes his report that Mephibosheth has stayed in Jerusalem, expecting Israel to restore his grandfather’s kingdom; David promptly gives Ziba everything belonging to Mephibosheth.
The man on the ridgevv. 5–14
At Bahurim, Shimei comes out from the house of Saul and turns David’s retreat into a moving bombardment, keeping up the curses while throwing stones and dust, despite the troops and mighty men stationed on either side. Abishai offers the brisk solution of cutting off his head. David refuses it, leaving Shimei to curse him because, as David says, perhaps the LORD will see his affliction and repay him with good. The party continues until exhaustion, while Shimei continues too, from the opposite ridge.
A roof, a tent, and counsel of extraordinary authorityvv. 15–23
Absalom enters Jerusalem with all the men of Israel, and David’s friend Hushai greets him with the sort of enthusiasm that requires a careful explanation. Hushai says he will serve the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by Israel—including the king’s son. Absalom then asks Ahithophel what to do. The counsel is to sleep with David’s concubines in a tent on the roof, in sight of all Israel, so that the breach with David becomes unmistakable and his supporters are strengthened. The advice is then given the highest possible comparison: it was regarded like consultation of the word of God by both David and Absalom.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
2 Sam 16:1When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
2 Sam 16:2“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
2 Sam 16:3“Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’”
2 Sam 16:4So the king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” “I humbly bow before you,” said Ziba. “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king!”
2 Sam 16:5As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
2 Sam 16:6He threw stones at David and at all the servants of the king, though the troops and all the mighty men were on David’s right and left.
2 Sam 16:7And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!
2 Sam 16:8The LORD has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has delivered the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, you have come to ruin because you are a man of bloodshed!”
2 Sam 16:9Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
2 Sam 16:10But the king replied, “What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah? If he curses me because the LORD told him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why did you do this?’”
2 Sam 16:11Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.
2 Sam 16:12Perhaps the LORD will see my affliction and repay me with good for the cursing I receive today.”
2 Sam 16:13So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei went along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he yelled curses, threw stones, and flung dust at David.
2 Sam 16:14Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived, exhausted. And there he refreshed himself.
2 Sam 16:15Then Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.
2 Sam 16:16And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
2 Sam 16:17“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
2 Sam 16:18“Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by this people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.
2 Sam 16:19Furthermore, whom should I serve if not his son? As I served in your father’s presence, so also I will serve in yours.”
2 Sam 16:20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?”
2 Sam 16:21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
2 Sam 16:22So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
2 Sam 16:23Now in those days the advice of Ahithophel was like the consultation of the word of God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 213 passages were voted onto 21 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 12Deuteronomy 23:5Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
- 12Hebrews 12:10Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- 12Exodus 2:24–25So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- 12Psalms 25:18Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins.
- 12Matthew 5:11–12Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
- 12Romans 8:28And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
- 9Exodus 22:28You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- 12Genesis 29:32–33And Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Reuben, for she said, “The LORD has seen my affliction. Surely my husband will love me now.”
- 121 Samuel 1:11And she made a vow, saying, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
- 122 Thessalonians 1:7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- 172 Samuel 19:25And he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, who asked him, “Mephibosheth, why did you not go with me?”
- 52 Samuel 3:16Her husband followed her, weeping all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, “Go back.” So he returned home.
- 92 Samuel 9:8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
- 102 Samuel 19:22And David replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, what have I to do with you, that you should be my adversaries today? Should any man be put to death in Israel today? Am I not indeed aware that today I am king over Israel?”
- 122 Corinthians 4:17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
- 11 Samuel 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys
Onward