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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Contemporary English Version

2 Samuel 17:19

The man's wife put the cover on the well and poured grain on top of it, so the well could not be seen.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Abiathar;   Ahimaaz;   Ahithophel;   Corn;   Falsehood;   Friendship;   Jonathan;   Zadok;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ahimaaz;   Ahithophel;   Hushai;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Mouth;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ahithophel;   Prayer;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Well;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ahimaaz;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Bahurim;   Jonathan;   Samuel, Books of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Ahimaaz ;   Ahithophel ;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Absalom;   Ahimaaz;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ahim'a-Az;   Ahith'ophel;   Jon'athan,;   Well;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Adonijah;   Ground;   Samuel, Books of;   Zadok;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ahimaaz;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then his wife took the cover, placed it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain on it so nobody would know anything.
Hebrew Names Version
The woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed bruised grain thereon; and nothing was known.
King James Version
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
Lexham English Bible
Then the woman took and spread a covering over the opening of the well; then she spread out dried grain on it, so nothing was discovered.
English Standard Version
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it.
New Century Version
The man's wife spread a sheet over the opening of the well and covered it with grain. No one could tell that anyone was hiding there.
New English Translation
His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done.
Amplified Bible
And the woman [of the house] took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain on it; so nothing was discovered.
New American Standard Bible
And the woman took a cover and spread it over the well's mouth and scattered barley meal on it, so that nothing was known.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the wife tooke and spred a couering ouer the welles mouth, and spred ground corne thereon, that the thing should not be knowen.
Legacy Standard Bible
And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well's mouth and scattered crushed grain on it, so that nothing was known.
Complete Jewish Bible
His wife spread a covering over the cistern's opening and scattered drying grain on it, so that nothing showed.
Darby Translation
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn on it; and the thing was not known.
Easy-to-Read Version
The man's wife spread a sheet over the mouth of the well and covered it with grain. The well looked like a pile of grain, so no one would know to look there.
George Lamsa Translation
And the woman took and spread a covering over the wells mouth, and put barley upon it; and the thing was not known.
Good News Translation
The man's wife took a covering, spread it over the opening of the well and scattered grain over it, so that no one would notice anything.
Literal Translation
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well, and spread ground grain on it. And the thing was not known.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the woman toke and spred a couerynge ouer the welles mouth, & strowed firmentye corne theron, that it was not perceaued.
American Standard Version
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed bruised grain thereon; and nothing was known.
Bible in Basic English
And a woman put a cover over the hole, and put crushed grain on top of it, and no one had any knowledge of it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the wyfe toke and spread a couerlet ouer the welles mouth, & spread ground corne theron: and the thing was not spied.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed groats thereon; and nothing was known.
King James Version (1611)
And the woman tooke and spread a couering ouer the welles mouth, and spread ground corne thereon; and the thing was not knowen.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And a woman took a covering, and spread it over the mouth of the well, and spread out ground corn upon it to dry, and the thing was not known.
English Revised Version
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and strewed bruised corn thereon; and nothing was known.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the man's wife took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well and scattered grain over it, so nobody would know a thing.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe a womman took, and spred abrood an hilyng of the mouth of the pit as driynge `barli with the pile takun a wey, and so the thing was hid.
Young's Literal Translation
and the woman taketh and spreadeth the covering over the face of the well, and spreadeth on it the ground corn, and the thing hath not been known.
Update Bible Version
And the woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed bruised grain thereon; and nothing was known.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn upon it; and the thing was not known.
World English Bible
The woman took and spread the covering over the well's mouth, and strewed bruised grain thereon; and nothing was known.
New King James Version
Then the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground grain on it; and the thing was not known.
New Living Translation
The man's wife put a cloth over the top of the well and scattered grain on it to dry in the sun; so no one suspected they were there.
New Life Bible
Then the woman took the covering and spread it over the well's mouth, and spread grain on it, so nothing was known of it.
New Revised Standard
The man's wife took a covering, stretched it over the well's mouth, and spread out grain on it; and nothing was known of it.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and the woman took and spread the cover over the face of the well, and spread thereon her pounded corn, - so nothing was known.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And a woman took, and spread a covering over the mouth of the well, as it were to dry sodden barley and so the thing was not known.
Revised Standard Version
And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and scattered grain upon it; and nothing was known of it.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And the woman took a covering and spread it over the well's mouth and scattered grain on it, so that nothing was known.

Contextual Overview

15 Right away, Hushai went to Zadok and Abiathar. He told them what advice Ahithophel had given to Absalom and to the leaders of Israel. He also told them about the advice he had given. 16 Then he said, "Hurry! Send someone to warn David not to spend the night on this side of the river. He must get across the river, so he and the others won't be wiped out!" 17 Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at Rogel Spring because they did not want to be seen in Jerusalem. A servant girl went to the spring and gave them the message for David. 18 But a young man saw them and went to tell Absalom. So Jonathan and Ahimaaz left and hurried to the house of a man who lived in Bahurim. Then they climbed down into a well in the courtyard. 19 The man's wife put the cover on the well and poured grain on top of it, so the well could not be seen. 20 Absalom's soldiers came to the woman and demanded, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" The woman answered, "They went across the stream." The soldiers went off to look for the two men. But when they did not find the men, they went back to Jerusalem. 21 After the soldiers had gone, Jonathan and Ahimaaz climbed out of the well. They went to David and said, "Hurry! Get ready to cross the river!" Then they told him about Ahithophel's plan.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

spread a covering: Joshua 2:4-6, 5-24

the thing: Exodus 1:19

Reciprocal: Joshua 2:6 - hid them

Cross-References

Genesis 17:2
I will keep my solemn promise to you and give you more descendants than can be counted."
Genesis 17:3
Abram bowed with his face to the ground, and God said:
Genesis 17:6
I will give you a lot of descendants, and in the future they will become great nations. Some of them will even be kings.
Genesis 17:9
Abraham, you and all future members of your family must promise to obey me.
Genesis 17:10
As the sign that you are keeping this promise, you must circumcise every man and boy in your family.
Genesis 17:14
Any man who isn't circumcised hasn't kept his promise to me and cannot be one of my people.
Genesis 17:16
I will bless her, and you will have a son by her. She will become the mother of nations, and some of her descendants will even be kings.
Genesis 17:17
Abraham bowed with his face to the ground and thought, "I am almost a hundred years old. How can I become a father? And Sarah is ninety. How can she have a child?" So he started laughing.
Genesis 17:20
I have heard what you asked me to do for Ishmael, and so I will also bless him with many descendants. He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make his family a great nation.
Genesis 17:21
But your son Isaac will be born about this time next year, and the promise I am making to you and your family will be for him and his descendants forever.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth,.... This woman, very probably, was the man's wife of the house, as Abarbinel notes; who took a cloth, and spread it over the well's mouth, that it could not be seen or known that there was a well there:

and spread ground corn thereon: just taken out of the mill, before it was sifted, while in the bran; or corn unhusked, or just threshed out, in order to be dried in the sun, and then parched; or wheat bruised for that purpose: Josephus says q they were locks of wool she spread:

and the thing was not known; that the young men were in the well.

q Antiqu. l. 7. c. 9. sect. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A covering - Hebrew “the covering,” perhaps “the hanging” or “awning” at the door of the house, as the word seems to mean when spoken of the tabernacle.

Ground corn - Or “peeled barley,” which she spread out as if for the purpose of drying it in the sun.


 
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