Lectionary Calendar
Sunday, August 24th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

New Century Version

2 Samuel 14:12

The woman said, "Let me say something to you, my master and king." The king said, "Speak."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Absalom;   David;   Dishonesty;   Intercession;   Joab;   Kindness;   Obsequiousness;   Parables;   Tact;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Absalom;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joab;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Mediator, Mediation;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Court Systems;   Samuel, Books of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Priests and Levites;   Samuel, Books of;   Wisdom;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Absalom;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Jo'ab;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Samuel, Books of;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Absalom;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?”
Hebrew Names Version
Then the woman said, Please let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king. He said, Say on.
King James Version
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
Lexham English Bible
The woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."
English Standard Version
Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." He said, "Speak."
New English Translation
Then the woman said, "Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter." He replied, "Tell me."
Amplified Bible
Then the woman said, "Please let your maidservant speak one more word to my lord the king." He said, "Speak."
New American Standard Bible
Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the woman said, I pray thee, let thine handmayde speake a worde to my lord the King. And he sayd, Say on.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then the woman said, "Please let your servant-woman speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."
Contemporary English Version
Then she asked, "Your Majesty, may I say something?" "Yes," he answered.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then the woman said, "Please allow your servant to say something else to my lord the king." "Go on," he replied.
Darby Translation
And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.
Easy-to-Read Version
The woman said, "My lord and king, please let me say something else to you." The king said, "Speak."
George Lamsa Translation
Then the woman said, Let your handmaid speak a word to the king, and he said to her, Speak.
Good News Translation
"Please, Your Majesty, let me say just one more thing," the woman said. "All right," he answered.
Literal Translation
And the woman said, Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the woman sayde: Let thy handmayde speake somwhat to my lorde the kynge. He sayde: speake on.
American Standard Version
Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
Bible in Basic English
Then the woman said, Will the king let his servant say one word more? And he said, Say on.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The woman sayde: Let thyne handmayde speake one worde vnto my lorde the king. And he sayde: Say on.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then the woman said: 'Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king.' And he said: 'Say on.'
King James Version (1611)
Then the woman said, Let thine handmayd, I pray thee, speake one word vnto my lord the king. And hee said, Say on.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the woman said, Let now thy servant speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
English Revised Version
Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the woman said, "Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?" "Speak," he replied.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the womman seide, Thin handmayde speke a word to my lord the kyng. And the kyng seide, Speke thou.
Young's Literal Translation
And the woman saith, `Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, `Speak.'
Update Bible Version
Then the woman said, Let your slave, I pray you, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak [one] word to my lord the king. And he said, Say on.
World English Bible
Then the woman said, Please let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king. He said, Say on.
New King James Version
Therefore the woman said, "Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king." And he said, "Say on."
New Living Translation
"Please allow me to ask one more thing of my lord the king," she said. "Go ahead and speak," he responded.
New Life Bible
Then the woman said, "Let your woman servant speak to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."
New Revised Standard
Then the woman said, "Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king." He said, "Speak."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said the woman, Pray let thy maidservant speak unto my lord the king, a word. And he said - Speak.
Douay-Rheims Bible
The woman said: Let thy hand maid speak one word to my lord the king. And he said: Speak.
Revised Standard Version
Then the woman said, "Pray let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king." He said, "Speak."
THE MESSAGE
Then she asked, "May I say one more thing to my master, the king?" He said, "Go ahead."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the woman said, "Please let your maidservant speak a word to my lord the king." And he said, "Speak."

Contextual Overview

1 Joab son of Zeruiah knew that King David missed Absalom very much. 2 So Joab sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He said to her, "Pretend to be very sad. Put on funeral clothes and don't put lotion on yourself. Act like a woman who has been crying many days for someone who died. 3 Then go to the king and say these words." Then Joab told her what to say. 4 So the woman from Tekoa spoke to the king. She bowed facedown on the ground to show respect and said, "My king, help me!" 5 King David asked her, "What is the matter?" The woman said, "I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I had two sons. They were out in the field fighting, and no one was there to stop them. So one son killed the other son. 7 Now all the family group is against me. They said to me, ‘Bring the son who killed his brother so we may kill him for killing his brother. That way we will also get rid of the one who would receive what belonged to his father.' My son is like the last spark of a fire. He is all I have left. If they kill him, my husband's name and property will be gone from the earth." 8 Then the king said to the woman, "Go home. I will take care of this for you." 9 The woman of Tekoa said to him, "Let the blame be on me and my father's family. My master and king, you and your throne are innocent." 10 King David said, "Bring me anyone who says anything bad to you. Then he won't bother you again."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Let thine: 1 Samuel 25:24

speak one word: Genesis 18:27, Genesis 18:32, Genesis 44:18, Jeremiah 12:1

Say on: Acts 26:1

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 20:17 - Hear the words 1 Kings 2:14 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 11:27
This is the family history of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.
Genesis 12:5
He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and everything they owned, as well as all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan, and in time they arrived there.
Genesis 14:9
They fought against Kedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Babylonia, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings fighting against five.
Genesis 14:11
Now Kedorlaomer and his armies took everything the people of Sodom and Gomorrah owned, including their food.
Genesis 14:12
They took Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom, and everything he owned. Then they left.
Genesis 14:13
One of the men who was not captured went to Abram, the Hebrew, and told him what had happened. At that time Abram was camped near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite. Mamre was a brother of Eshcol and Aner, and they had all made an agreement to help Abram.
Genesis 14:17
After defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, Abram went home. As he was returning, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (now called King's Valley).
Genesis 14:19
and blessed Abram, saying, "Abram, may you be blessed by God Most High, the God who made heaven and earth.
Numbers 16:26
Moses warned the people, "Move away from the tents of these evil men! Don't touch anything of theirs, or you will be destroyed because of their sins."
Job 9:23
If the whip brings sudden death, God will laugh at the suffering of the innocent.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the woman said, let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak [one] word unto my Lord the king,.... Having gained her point, and gotten a decree from him confirmed by an oath, that her son though he had killed his brother should not die; she proceeds to accommodate the parable, and apply it to the case of Absalom, and improve it in his favour:

and he said, say on; gave her leave to say what she had further to observe to him; see Luke 7:40.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Having at last obtained what she wanted, the king’s oath that her son should not die, she proceeds to the case of Absalom. The meaning of 2 Samuel 14:13 may be paraphrased thus: “If you have done right as regards my son, how is it that you harbor such a purpose of vengeance against Absalom as to keep him, one of God’s people, an outcast in a pagan country, far from the worship of the God of Israel? Upon your own showing you are guilty of a great fault in not allowing Absalom to return.”

The king doth speak ... - literally, “And from the king speaking this word (this sentence of absolution to my son) he is as one guilty; i. e. the sentence you have pronounced in favor of my son condemns your own conduct toward Absalom.”


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile