2 Samuel 19:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, "Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord 's anointed?"

NIV: Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, "Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this? He cursed the Lord’s anointed."

NASB: But Abishai the son of Zeruiah responded, 'Should Shimei not be put to death for this, the fact that he cursed the Lord’s anointed?'

CSB: Abishai son of Zeruiah asked, "Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?"

NLT: Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said, 'Shimei should die, for he cursed the Lord’s anointed king!'

KJV: But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord'S anointed?

NKJV: But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”

Second Samuel 19:16–23 begins David's work of personal reconciliation. When David fled Jerusalem, the Benjaminite Shimei cursed him and threw stones (2 Samuel 16:5–8). Now, he arrives with a thousand men to help David's people cross the Jordan and return home. David forgives him. Ziba, Mephibosheth's property manager, also comes. Soon, Mephibosheth will tell David Ziba betrayed him, and David will restore half his land (2 Samuel 19:24–30). When Solomon is king, he'll have reason to execute Shimei (1 Kings 2:36–46).

David comes home after a tragic and costly rebellion. His son Absalom is dead, and rebel fighters have fled back home (2 Samuel 18). David falls into self-indulgent grief until Joab reminds him of his soldiers' honor. On the journey back to the Jordan, David reconciles with Shimei, Mephibosheth, and the elders of Judah, and blesses Barzillai. The elders of the northern tribes arrive and argue with Judah over who loves the king more—the king they tried to kill. The first chance they get, the men from Israel leave and try to start another rebellion (2 Samuel 20:1–2).

David's son, Absalom, manipulated the elders of the tribes, convincing them that he would make a better king than David (2 Samuel 15—17). During the one-day civil war, Joab killed Absalom, against David's orders (2 Samuel 18). David falls into a very public expression of mourning until Joab tells him to honor his living servants, not his dead, traitorous son. On the way to Jerusalem, David tries to forgive his enemies. The elders of Israel claim to welcome him back. But after squabbling with the elders from Judah, they join a new rebellion (2 Samuel 10:1–2).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.

Accessed 4/30/2026 6:28:42 AM