The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken; for your servant Joab urged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
Parallel Translations
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The king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” The woman answered, “As your soul lives, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken; for your servant Joab urged me, and he put all these words in the mouth of your servant.
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And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:
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And the king said: 'Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answered and said: 'As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from aught that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thy handmaid;
Cross-references (19)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 14:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 14:3 Go in to the king, and speak like this to him.” So Joab put the words in her mouth.
- 1 Samuel 1:26 She said, “Oh, my lord, as your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood by you here, praying to Yahweh.
- Exodus 4:15 You shall speak to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.
- Numbers 20:17 “Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink from the water of the wells. We will go along the king’s highway. We will not turn away to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.”
- Deuteronomy 5:32 You shall observe to do therefore as Yahweh your God has commanded you. You shall not turn away to the right hand or to the left.
- Deuteronomy 28:14 and shall not turn away from any of the words which I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
- Joshua 1:7 Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.
- 1 Samuel 17:55 When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I can’t tell.”
- 1 Samuel 20:3 David swore moreover, and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he says, ‘Don’t let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved;’ but truly as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
- 1 Samuel 25:26 Now therefore, my lord, as Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has withheld you from blood guiltiness, and from avenging yourself with your own hand, now therefore let your enemies, and those who seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
- 2 Samuel 3:27 When Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside into the middle of the gate to speak with him quietly, and struck him there in the body, so that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
- 2 Samuel 3:29 Let it fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father’s house. Let there not fail from the house of Joab one who has a discharge, or who is a leper, or who leans on a staff, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks bread.”
- 2 Samuel 3:34 Your hands weren’t bound, and your feet weren’t put into fetters. As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so you fell.” All the people wept again over him.
- 2 Samuel 11:11 Uriah said to David, “The ark, Israel, and Judah, are staying in tents; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open field. Shall I then go into my house to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing!”
- 2 Samuel 11:14-15 In the morning, David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. He wrote in the letter, saying, “Send Uriah to the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck, and die.”
- 1 Kings 2:5-6 “Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was around his waist, and in his sandals that were on his feet. Do therefore according to your wisdom, and don’t let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace.
- 2 Kings 2:2 Elijah said to Elisha, “Please wait here, for Yahweh has sent me as far as Bethel.” Elisha said, “As Yahweh lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.
- Proverbs 4:27 Don’t turn to the right hand nor to the left. Remove your foot from evil.
- Luke 21:15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hast not thou done this by the counsel of…
Hast not thou done this by the counsel of Joab.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 14:19 And the king said, [Is not] the…
2Sa 14:19 And the king said, [Is not] the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, [As] thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:
Ver. 19. Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?] Wert not thou secretly bribed and set on by him? Yes, nothing more sure, quoth she; it is bootless to say otherwise; he hath dictated and directed the whole business. All which Joab did, not out of any great goodwill to Absalom; but merely out of self love, to serve his own turn, now that he saw that David was set upon it to have him home, and that he was likely enough to succeed his father in the kingdom. Now as Joab’s hand was in this whole business, he was the engineer: so is Satan’s hand in the sins of the wicked, and in the troubles of the godly, as is easily discerned.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Is not the hand of Joab with thee in…
Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? hast thou not said and done this by Joab’s direction and contrivance?
None can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: as the king is so wise that no man can deceive him by any turnings or windings to the right or left hand, but he quickly searcheth out the truth in every thing; so, (it is a folly to dissemble, or go about to conceal it,) it is even so, thou hast now discovered the truth of this business.
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He put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid, to wit, for the scope and substance of them, but not as to all the expressions which she used, for these were to be varied as the king’s answer gave occasion, which also she did with singular prudence.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the king said, is not the hand of…
And the king said, is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this?.... That is, is not this done by the advice, assistance, and direction of Joab? did not he form this scheme for thee, and direct thee to this method, and put thee upon prosecuting it?
and the woman answered and said, as thy soul liveth, my lord the king; what I am about to say is as sure as thou art alive; though this may be only a wish that he might long live and be happy; nothing is more desirable than thy valuable life:
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none can turn to the right hand or the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken; he has hit upon the truth of the matter; there is no dissimulation or prevarication to be used; the thing cannot be denied; for thy servant Joab he bade me, and put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: he sent for me, and laid his commands on me, and directed me what to say to the king, and how to conduct this affair.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Of Joab - Hast thou not said and done…
Of Joab - Hast thou not said and done this by Joab's direction. Said - It is even so, thou hast discovered the truth. These words - As to the substance of them, but not as to all the expressions; for these were to be varied as the king's answer gave occasion.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Right, but he hath ordered me to say all…
Right, but he hath ordered me to say all these things. Joab had given her leave to make this declaration, as he perceived that the king’s heart was already inclined towards Absalom, ver. 1. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. none can turn, &c.] The king’s words hit…
19. none can turn, &c.] The king’s words hit the mark precisely: he discerns the exact state of the case.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) The hand of Joab.—The king at once penetrates…
(19) The hand of Joab.—The king at once penetrates the woman’s disguise, and sees the stratagem. He knew Joab as “wily and politic and unscrupulous,” but we do not know why he suspected him of this especial interest in Absalom. Perhaps it was only the prosperous courtier’s interest in the heir-apparent, but probably Joab had made the same request before, so that the king recognised its source.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Is the hand of Joab with thee in all…
Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this? The "not," inserted by the Authorized Version, must be omitted, as it alters the meaning. The king really was uncertain, and asked dubiously, whereas the Authorized Version admits only of an. affirmative answer. David had seen the general drift of the woman"s meaning, but she had involved it in too much obscurity for him to do more than suspect that she was the mouthpiece of Joab, who was standing by, and whose face may have given signs of a more than ordinary interest in the woman"s narrative. She now frankly acknowledges the truth, but skilfully interweaves much flattery in her answer. And her words are far more expressive than what is given in our versions. Literally they are, By thy life, O my lord the king, there is nothing on the right or on the left of all that my lord the king has spoken.
His words had gone straight to the mark, without the slightest deviation on either side.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.