Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, November 23rd, 2025
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Easy-to-Read Version

2 Samuel 19:5

Joab came into the king's palace and said to the king, "You are humiliating every one of your officers! Look, they saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters and your wives and slave women.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Absalom;   Chiding;   Citizens;   Courage;   David;   Joab;   Loyalty;   Parents;   Reproof;   Sorrow;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prophet;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Absalom;   Joab;   Samuel, Books of;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Absalom;   Salvation;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Joab went into the house to the king and said, “Today you have shamed all your soldiers—those who saved your life as well as your sons, your wives, and your concubines—
Hebrew Names Version
Yo'av came into the house to the king, and said, You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants, who this day have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines;
King James Version
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
Lexham English Bible
Then Joab came to the king's house and said, "Today you have humiliated the faces of all of your servants who have saved your life this day, and the life of your sons and your daughters, the life of your wives, and the life of your concubines,
English Standard Version
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines,
New Century Version
Joab went into the king's house and said, "Today you have shamed all your men. They saved your life and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives, and slave women.
New English Translation
So Joab visited the king at his home. He said, "Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.
Amplified Bible
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have put all your servants to shame who this day have saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and concubines.
New American Standard Bible
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have shamed all your servants, who have saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Ioab came into the house to the King, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy seruants, which this day haue saued thy life & the liues of thy sones, & of thy daughters, and the liues of thy wiues, and the liues of thy concubines,
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have shamed the faces of all your servants, who today have provided escape for your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines,
Contemporary English Version
Joab went to the house where David was staying and told him: You've made your soldiers ashamed! Not only did they save your life, they saved your sons and daughters and wives as well.
Complete Jewish Bible
Meanwhile, the king covered his face and cried aloud, "Oh, my son Avshalom! Oh, Avshalom, my son, my son!"
Darby Translation
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast put to shame this day the faces of all thy servants who have this day saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines;
George Lamsa Translation
And Joab came into the kings house and said to him, You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants who this day have saved your life and the lives of all your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,
Good News Translation
Joab went to the king's house and said to him, "Today you have humiliated your men—the men who saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and of your wives and concubines.
Literal Translation
And Joab came in to the king to the house, and said, You have put to shame today the faces of all your servants, those delivering your life today, and the life of your sons, and of your daughters,and the life of your wives, and the life ofyour concubines,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But Ioab came to the kynge in to the house, and sayde: This daye hast thou shamed all thy seruauntes (which haue delyuered thy soule this daye, and the soules of thy sonnes, of thy doughters, of thy wyues, and of thy cocubynes)
American Standard Version
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
Bible in Basic English
And Joab came into the house to the king and said, Today you have put to shame the faces of all your servants who even now have kept you and your sons and your daughters and your wives and all your women safe from death;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Ioab came into the house to the king, and sayd: Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy seruautes, which this day haue saued thy life, & the liues of thy sonnes, and of thy daughters, & the liues of thy wyues, and of thy concubines,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice: 'O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!'
King James Version (1611)
And Ioab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy seruants, which this day haue saued thy life, and the liues of thy sonnes, & of thy daughters, and the liues of thy wiues, and the liues of thy concubines,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Joab went in to the king, into the house, and said, Thou hast this day shamed the faces of all thy servants that have delivered thee this day, and have saved the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and of thy concubines,
English Revised Version
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
Berean Standard Bible
Then Joab went into the house and said to the king, "Today you have disgraced all your servants who have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, of your wives, and of your concubines.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Absolon, my sone! Therfor Joab entride to the kyng in to the hows, and seide, Thou hast schent to dai the cheris of alle thi seruauntis, that han maad saaf thi lijf, and the lijf of thi sones and of thi douytris, and the lijf of thi wyues, and the lijf of thi secoundarie wyues.
Young's Literal Translation
And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, `Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,
Update Bible Version
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, You have shamed this day the faces of all your slaves, who this day have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines;
Webster's Bible Translation
And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
World English Bible
Joab came into the house to the king, and said, You have shamed this day the faces of all your servants, who this day have saved your life, and the lives of your sons and of your daughters, and the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines;
New King James Version
Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "Today you have disgraced all your servants who today have saved your life, the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives and the lives of your concubines,
New Living Translation
Then Joab went to the king's room and said to him, "We saved your life today and the lives of your sons, your daughters, and your wives and concubines. Yet you act like this, making us feel ashamed of ourselves.
New Life Bible
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have covered the faces of all your servants with shame. Today they have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, your wives and the women who act as your wives.
New Revised Standard
Then Joab came into the house to the king, and said, "Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your officers who have saved your life today, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then came Joab unto the king, in the house, - and said - Thou hast, to-day, covered with shame the faces of all thy servants, who have rescued thy life to-day, and the lives of thy sons and thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Then Joab going into the house to the king, said: Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, that have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines.
Revised Standard Version
Then Jo'ab came into the house to the king, and said, "You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life, and the lives of your sons and your daughters, and the lives of your wives and your concubines,
THE MESSAGE
But in private Joab rebuked the king: "Now you've done it—knocked the wind out of your loyal servants who have just saved your life, to say nothing of the lives of your sons and daughters, wives and concubines. What is this—loving those who hate you and hating those who love you? Your actions give a clear message: officers and soldiers mean nothing to you. You know that if Absalom were alive right now, we'd all be dead—would that make you happy? Get hold of yourself; get out there and put some heart into your servants! I swear to God that if you don't go to them they'll desert; not a soldier will be left here by nightfall. And that will be the worst thing that has happened yet."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, "Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines,

Contextual Overview

1 People told Joab what had happened, "Look, the king is crying and mourning for Absalom." 2 So the joy of victory turned to sadness for everyone. It was a very sad day because the people heard, "The king is mourning for his son." 3 The people came into the city quietly as if they were the ones who had been defeated in battle. 4 The king had covered his face and was crying loudly, "O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!" 5 Joab came into the king's palace and said to the king, "You are humiliating every one of your officers! Look, they saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters and your wives and slave women. 6 It seems that you love those who hate you, and you hate those who love you! Today you have made it clear to your officers and men that they mean nothing to you. It appears as if you would have been perfectly happy if Absalom had lived and the rest of us had been killed today! 7 Now get up and go encourage your officers. I swear by the Lord , if you don't go out and do that right now, not one man will be with you tonight. And that will be worse for you than all the trouble you have had since you were a child." 8 So the king went to the city gate. The news spread that the king was at the gate, so all the people came to see him, except for the Israelites who had run away to their homes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Thou hast: Every one must admit that David's immoderate grief for his rebellious son was imprudent, and that Joab's firm and sensible reproof was necessary to arouse him to a sense of his duty to his people: but, in his manner, Joab far exceeded the bounds of that reverence which a servant owes to his master, or a subject to his prince.

saved: Nehemiah 9:27, Psalms 3:8, Psalms 18:47, Psalms 18:48

Reciprocal: Judges 19:1 - a concubine 2 Samuel 3:24 - What hast 2 Samuel 19:13 - room of Joab 1 Kings 2:5 - Joab Psalms 34:5 - their

Cross-References

Genesis 19:23
Lot was entering the town as the sun came up,
Genesis 19:24
and the Lord began to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. He caused fire and burning sulfur to fall from the sky.
Genesis 19:26
Lot's wife was following behind him and looked back at the city. When she did, she became a block of salt.
Genesis 19:27
Early the next morning, Abraham got up and went to the place where he stood before the Lord .
Leviticus 18:22
"Men, you must not have sexual relations with another man as with a woman. That is a terrible sin!
Leviticus 20:13
"If a man has sexual relations with another man as with a woman, they have committed a terrible sin. They must be put to death. They are responsible for their own death.
Judges 19:22
While the Levite and those who were with him were enjoying themselves, some very bad men from the city surrounded the house. They began beating on the door. They shouted at the old man who owned the house. They said, "Bring out the man who came to your house. We want to have sex with him."
Isaiah 1:9
If the Lord All-Powerful had not allowed a few people to live, we would have been destroyed completely like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that almost happened!
Isaiah 3:9
The look on their faces shows that they are guilty. They are like the people of Sodom; they don't care who sees their sin. But it will be very bad for them. They will get what they deserve.
Jeremiah 3:3
You sinned, so the rain has not come. There has not been any springtime rains. But still you refuse to be ashamed. The look on your face is like that of a prostitute who refuses to be ashamed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Joab came into the house to the king,.... For by this time he was removed from the chamber over the gate to his own dwelling house or palace, where he continued the same doleful ditty as at first:

and said, thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants; they cannot lift up their heads, and look any in the face, nor one another; but behave as if they had committed some very great fault, in fighting with the rebels, and beating them:

which this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; which in all probability would have been taken away if the victory had been on the side of Absalom.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Had Absalom gained the victory, it is likely that, according to the manner of Oriental despots, he would have sought to secure his throne by killing all possible competitors Judges 9:5; 1 Kings 15:29.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Samuel 19:5. Thou hast shamed this day — Joab's speech to David on his immoderate grief for the death of his rebellious son is not only remarkable for the insolence of office, but also for good sense and firmness. Every man who candidly considers the state of the case, must allow that David acted imprudently at least; and that Joab's firm reproof was necessary to arouse him to a sense of his duty to his people. But still, in his manner, Joab had far exceeded the bonds of that reverence which a servant owes to his master, or a subject to his prince. Joab was a good soldier, but in every respect a bad man, and a dangerous subject.


 
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