Your servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.”
Parallel Translations
-
Your servant Joab has done this thing to change the face of the matter. My lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.”
-
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.
-
to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing; and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.'
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 14:20 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 14:17 Then your servant said, ‘Please let the word of my lord the king bring rest; for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad. May Yahweh, your God, be with you.’ ”
- 2 Samuel 19:27 He has slandered your servant to my lord the king, but my lord the king is as an angel of God. Therefore do what is good in your eyes.
- Genesis 3:5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- 2 Samuel 5:23 When David inquired of Yahweh, he said, “You shall not go up. Circle around behind them, and attack them in front of the mulberry trees.
- Job 32:21-22 Please don’t let me respect any man’s person, neither will I give flattering titles to any man. For I don’t know how to give flattering titles, or else my Maker would soon take me away.
- Job 38:16-41 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all. “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place, that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house? Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth? Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunder storm, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no man, on the wilderness, in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to grow? Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew? Whose womb did the ice come out of? Who has given birth to the gray frost of the sky? The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen. “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion? Can you lead the constellations out in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth? “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you? Can you send out lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’ Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind? Who can count the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the containers of the sky, when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together? “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket? Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
- Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.
- Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- 1 Corinthians 8:1-2 Now concerning things sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. But if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain By speaking further in a parable then plainly.
By speaking further in a parable then plainly.
Or, none can hide ought from the King.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 14:20 To fetch about this form of speech…
2Sa 14:20 To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all [things] that [are] in the earth.
Ver. 20. To fetch about this form of speech.] Ut rei faciem inverterem: that I might tell thee a story of my son, but transfer it to thine as much alike; that I might deliver myself parable wise, a thing in those days very usual.
Read full note →
To know all things that are in the earth.] Pανσοφος και παντα ανθρωπεια επισταμενος, as one said of Homer, that he knew all that was within the circumference of human knowledge. See 2Sa 14:17.
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 To fetch about this form of speech, i.e. to…
To fetch about this form of speech, i.e. to propose mine, and his, and the people’s desire of Absalom’s restitution in this parabolical manner, in mine and my son’s person.
In the earth, or, in this land, in all thy kingdom; all the counsels and devices of thy subjects which have any relation to thee or thy affairs.
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 To fetch about this form of speech hath thy…
To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing,.... Feigned a story in such form and manner as had been delivered to the king, that it might be accommodated and applied to the case of Absalom, and to transfer it in a figure to the king, to use the apostle's phrase, Co1 4:8,
and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God; as not only to understand the design of this fable or parable, but of such sagacity and penetration as to find out the author of it; and even
Read full note →
to know all things that are in the earth; either in the whole world, or rather in the land of Israel; and it is to be understood not of all actions natural and moral done by men in it, which would be to ascribe omniscience to him; but of all political things, all things respecting civil government; that he had such a spirit of discerning of men and things, that nothing could be said or done, or scheme formed, but he got intelligence of it, and insight into it; and which was carrying the compliment to a great height.
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 To fetch - That is, to propose his, and…
To fetch - That is, to propose his, and the peoples desire of Absalom's restitution in this parabolical manner. In the earth - Or, in this land, in all thy kingdom; all the counsels and devices of thy subjects.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 20. According to the wisdom of an angel…
Verse 20. According to the wisdom of an angel of God] This is quite in the style of Asiatic flattery. A European is often addressed, "Saheb can do every thing; we can do nothing; none can prevent the execution of Saheb's commands; Saheb is God." See WARD.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Sa 14:20. To fetch about this form of speech…
2Sa 14:20. To fetch about this form of speech — That is, to propose his and the people’s desire of Absalom’s restoration, in this parabolical manner. To know all things that are in the earth — Or, rather, in this land, in all thy kingdom; all the counsels and devices of thy subjects, and what is fit to be done in answer to their desires. She still persists in expressing her admiration of the king, that she might the more incline him to grant her request.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 20. to fetch about this form of speech] Rather,…
20. to fetch about this form of speech] Rather, in order to bring round the face of the business: that is, to alter the aspect of Absalom’s relations to his father.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain To fetch about this form of speech; correctly, as…
To fetch about this form of speech; correctly, as in the Revised Version, to change the face of the matter hath thy servant Joab, etc. The matter was that referred to in ver. 15, which the king now understands to refer to Absalom. For in the earth, translate in the land. The Hebrew has no means of distinguishing the wider and narrower significations of the word; but while the king would be flattered by the supposition that he knew all that happened in his dominions, the assertion that he knew all that was done in all the world was too broad and general to be agreeable. The Authorized Version has been misled by the thought of what an angel might know; but while it was a compliment to ascribe to the king an angel"s intelligence in his own sphere, it would have been bad taste and unmeaning to ascribe to him omniscience. Nay, it is an assumption without proof that even an angel knows "all things that are in the earth.
Flattery.
Read full note →
lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God," etc. Commendation is often proper and beneficial. (2Sa_2:5-7) But flattery (false, partial, or extravagant praise) is always improper and pernicious. This language was not mere Oriental compliment, but a flattering speech, intended to make the king pleased with himself in doing what he was urged to do.
1. It is agreeable to most persons when skilfully administered. "Flattery and the flatterer are pleasant; since the flatterer is a seeming admirer and a seeming friend" (Aristotle, "Rhetoric").
When I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does; being then most flattered. (Shakespeare.)
"We believe that we hate flattery, when all which we hate is the awkwardness of the flatterer" (La Rochefoucault).
1. It assumes various forms, and is usually obsequious and disingenuous; is direct or indirect; is shown in praising personal qualities, advantages, achievements, etc., giving "flattering titles", (Job 32) "good Master", (Mar_10:17 12:14) "my Lord," etc. Making or suggesting favourable comparisons, it may be, by detracting from the good name of others. (2Sa_4:8) It is sometimes sincere; but "people generally despise where they flatter and cringe to those they would gladly surpass.
2. It is commonly designed by those who employ it to serve some interest of their own (ver. 22). Hence it is so frequently used to gain the favour of kings, and such as possess authority, influence, or wealth. (Jud_1:16) When Alexander the Great was hit with an arrow in the siege of an Indian city, and the wound would not heal, he said to his flatterers, "You say that I am Jupiter"s "son, but this wound cries that I am but man.
3. It blinds those who listen to it to their defects, ministers to their vanity, and fills them with perilous self-complacency, "It"s the death of virtue.
4. It also induces them to pursue erroneous and sinful courses, which they might otherwise have avoided. "A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet". (Pro_29:5 Pro_26:28) "Ah! how good might many men have been who are now exceedingly bad had they not sold their ears to flatterers! Flatterers are soul murderers. Flattery is the very spring and mother of all impiety. It put our first parent on tasting the forbidden fruit. It put Absalom upon dethroning his father. It blows the trumpet and draws poor souls into rebellion against God, as Sheba drew Israel to rebel against David. It makes men call evil good and good evil, darkness light and light darkness" (T. Brooks).
5. It is only less culpable in those who listen to it than in those who employ it. They are willing captives. "As a wolf resembles a dog, so doth a flatterer a friend. Take heed, therefore, that, instead of guardian dogs, you do not incautiously admit ravening wolves" (Epictetus).
6. Its folly and guilt are sometimes discovered too late; when its ruinous consequences cannot be repaired D. (2Sa_15:13; Psa_12:3; Act_12:23)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain angel (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
angel (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:20 as wise as an angel of God: This…
14:20 as wise as an angel of God: This wise woman (14:2) knew it was good policy to flatter a king rather than risk insulting him.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.