2 Samuel 6:20

Contextual Overview

²⁰When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" ²⁰But David returned to bless his household, and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel has glorified himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the worthless ones shamelessly uncovers himself!" ²⁰ But when David returned to bless his household, Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants' maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!"²⁰ Then Dauid returned to blesse his housholde, and Michol the daughter of Saul came out to meete Dauid, & sayd: O howe glorious was the king of Israel this day, whiche was vncouered to day in the eyes of the maydens of his seruauntes, as a foole vncouereth him selfe? ²⁰ David went back to bless his house, but Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him. She said, "The king of Israel did not honor himself today! You took off your clothes in front of your servants' girls. You were like a fool who takes off his clothes without shame!" ²⁰ And David returned to bless his house. And Michal the daughter of Saul went out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who was uncovered today before the eyes of the slave-girls of his servants, as one of the vainones shamelessly uncovers himself. ²⁰ And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' maids, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!" ²⁰ Then David returned to bless his household. Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovers himself! ²⁰ Then Dauid returned to blesse his houshold: and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meete Dauid, and said, How glorious was the King of Israel to day, who vncouered himselfe to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his seruants, as one of the vaine fellowes shamelessely vncouereth himselfe!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

bless: 2 Samuel 6:18, Genesis 18:19, Joshua 24:15, 1 Chronicles 16:43, Psalms 30:1, *title Psalms 101:2

Michal: 2 Samuel 6:16, Psalms 69:7-9, Mark 3:21

glorious: Nehemiah 4:3, Nehemiah 4:4, Isaiah 53:2, Isaiah 53:3, John 13:6, 1 Corinthians 4:10-13, Philippians 2:7, Philippians 2:8

uncovered: We are only to understand by this expression that David had divested himself of his royal robes, in order to appear humble before the Lord, by assimilating himself to the condition of one of the priests or Levites: for we find that he was "girded with a linen ephod;" and consequently no part of his body was exposed, having only put off his outer garments. The terms uncovered or naked frequently mean no more than this in Scripture. 2 Samuel 6:14, 2 Samuel 6:16, 1 Samuel 19:23, 1 Samuel 19:24

vain fellows: Judges 9:4, Job 30:8

shamelessly: or, openly

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:19 - Behold Joshua 22:6 - General 1 Samuel 14:49 - name of the firstborn 1 Samuel 24:14 - the king 2 Samuel 19:39 - blessed 1 Chronicles 15:29 - she despised Job 2:10 - as one Isaiah 20:2 - naked Matthew 5:22 - Raca John 21:7 - naked Hebrews 7:7 - the less

Cross-References

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth."

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God sayde vnto them: be fruitefull, & multiplie, and replenishe the earth, & subdue it, and haue dominion of the fisshe of the sea, and foule of the ayre, & of euery lyuing thing that moueth vpon the earth.

Genesis 1:28
God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

Genesis 1:28
And God blesside hem, and seide, Encreesse ye, and be ye multiplied, and fille ye the erthe, and make ye it suget, and be ye lordis to fischis of the see, and to volatilis of heuene, and to alle lyuynge beestis that ben moued on erthe.

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said vnto them, Be fruitfull, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and haue dominion ouer the fish of the sea, and ouer the foule of the aire, and ouer euery liuing thing that mooueth vpon the earth.

Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then David returned to bless his household,.... His wife, children, and servants, to wish all happiness to them on this occasion, and pray to God for blessings on them temporal and spiritual. This was done when he came from the place where the ark was set, and was come to his own palace:

and Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David; before he had gotten quite to his own house:

and said, how glorious was the king of Israel today; which she spoke in an ironical jeering way, meaning the reverse, how inglorious, mean, and despicable he had made himself to be, by his airs and gestures:

who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! because he had put off his royal robes, and put on a linen ephod; for that he had stripped himself naked cannot be supposed, nor do her words import so much though a passionate exaggeration of the case.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then David returned ... - He had passed his house to accompany the ark to the tabernacle he had pitched for it, when Michal saw him dancing. He now returns to bless his household. He had blessed the people 2 Samuel 6:18, but there were the inmates of his own house whom the customs of the age did not allow to be present, and so, with his usual considerate kindness and affection, David came to bless them also on this solemn occasion.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 6:20. To bless his household. — This was according to the custom of the patriarchs, who were priests in their own families. It is worthy of remark, that David is called patriarch by Stephen, Acts 2:29, though living upwards of four hundred years after the termination of the patriarchal age.

How glorious was the king of Israel — This is a strong irony. From what Michal says, it is probable that David used some violent gesticulations, by means of which some parts of his body became uncovered. But it is very probable that we cannot guess all that was implied in this reproach.