2 Samuel 13:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But the king said to Absalom, "No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you." He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing.

NIV: "No, my son," the king replied. "All of us should not go; we would only be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he still refused to go but gave him his blessing.

NASB: But the king said to Absalom, 'No, my son, we should not all go, so that we will not be a burden to you.' Though he urged him, he would not go; but he blessed him.

CSB: The king replied to Absalom, "No, my son, we should not all go, or we would be a burden to you." Although Absalom urged him, he wasn’t willing to go, though he did bless him.

NLT: The king replied, 'No, my son. If we all came, we would be too much of a burden on you.' Absalom pressed him, but the king would not come, though he gave Absalom his blessing.

KJV: And the king said to Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would not go, but blessed him.

NKJV: But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you.” Then he urged him, but he would not go; and he blessed him.

Absalom is throwing a feast in the hill country of Ephraim, not far from Bethel. He asks David to come. David declines. By the time they had counted David's bodyguards, servants, courtiers, and possibly wives and sons, Absalom couldn't afford to feed them all. The king, though, does give his blessing for Absalom to hold the feast (2 Samuel 13:23–24).

David doesn't realize that Absalom doesn't really care if David comes, nor his servants and courtiers. In fact, he probably asks knowing David will say no. Absalom only needs one person to show up: Amnon. So, when David asks, Absalom asks for Amnon directly. On the surface, Amnon the firstborn is the appropriate alternative for the king. But David should have suspected that Absalom has ulterior motives. Amnon raped Absalom's sister two years before (2 Samuel 13:14). Absalom hasn't even spoken about Amnon since then.

David questions Absalom why he wants Amnon there (2 Samuel 13:26), perhaps starting to see the danger. Absalom pulls back and asks for all his brothers to come (2 Samuel 13:27). By the end of David's life, he'll have had nineteen sons by his wives and countless others by his concubines. It's possible David simply missed the threat that the situation presented. Or, David thinks Amnon will be safer in a crowd. He lets them go.

Absalom plots to kill Amnon and succeeds. As his brothers flee back to Jerusalem and their grieving father, Absalom runs across the Jordan River to his maternal grandfather, the king of Geshur. He doesn't know that God specifically allowed him to murder his brother as punishment against David for his own sin against Bathsheba and Uriah. From this point on, "the sword shall never depart" from David's house (2 Samuel 12:10).

Second Samuel 13:20–29 depict Tamar as desolate, David as furious, and Absalom as calculating. David's oldest son, Amnon, raped his own half-sister Tamar and threw her out into the street. Tamar's full brother Absalom tries to comfort her with thoughts of familial loyalty but secretly plots his revenge. Meanwhile, David is angry but seems to make no move to punish his son. Two years later, Absalom completes his plot to ambush and murder Amnon.

In this chapter, God's curse that the sword will strike David's house (2 Samuel 12:10) begins to emerge. David's firstborn son Amnon lusts over half-sister Tamar. Tamar fights back, but Amnon first rapes her and then rejects her. David is angry but does nothing. Two years later, Tamar's full brother Absalom murders Amnon. Three years after that, Absalom returns and becomes the enemy in David's house who takes his wives in public (2 Samuel 12:11–12; 15:1–16; 16:21–23).

This begins fulfillment of some of God's curses against David (2 Samuel 12:10), and sets the scene for others (2 Samuel 12:11–12). David's oldest son, Amnon, rapes his own half-sister, Tamar. Her full brother Absalom murders Amnon, starting a five-year campaign of vengeance against David. By the end, two of David's sons will be dead, his daughter will be desolate, and David will be deeply humbled (2 Samuel 14—19).