Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of Saul’s house, in whose place you have reigned! Yahweh has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son! Behold, you are caught by your own mischief, because you are a man of blood!”
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of Saul’s house, in whose place you have reigned! Yahweh has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son! Behold, you are caught by your own mischief, because you are a man of blood!”
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The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody man.
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the LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; and, behold, thou art taken in thine own mischief, because thou art a man of blood.'
Cross-references (11)
Passages linked to 2 Samuel 16:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Samuel 1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your head; for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have slain Yahweh’s anointed.’ ”
- Judges 9:24 that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and that their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother who killed them, and on the men of Shechem who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.
- Judges 9:56-57 Thus God repaid the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did to his father in killing his seventy brothers; and God repaid all the wickedness of the men of Shechem on their heads; and the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal came on them.
- 2 Samuel 3:28-29 Afterward, when David heard it, he said, “I and my kingdom are guiltless before Yahweh forever of the blood of Abner the son of Ner. 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.”
- 1 Kings 2:32-33 Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn’t know it: Abner the son of Ner, captain of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the army of Judah. So their blood will return on the head of Joab, and on the head of his offspring forever. But for David, for his offspring, for his house, and for his throne, there will be peace forever from Yahweh.”
- 2 Samuel 4:8-12 They brought the head of Ishbosheth to David to Hebron, and said to the king, “Behold, the head of Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life! Yahweh has avenged my lord the king today of Saul, and of his offspring.” David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?” David commanded his young men, and they killed them, cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in Abner’s grave in Hebron.
- 2 Samuel 21:9 He delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before Yahweh, and all seven of them fell together. They were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, at the beginning of barley harvest.
- Psalms 3:2 Many there are who say of my soul, “There is no help for him in God.”
- Psalms 4:2 You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood?
- Acts 28:4-5 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped from the sea, yet Justice has not allowed to live.” However he shook off the creature into the fire, and wasn’t harmed.
- Revelation 16:6 For they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Reproaching him, as though by his means Ishbosheth and…
Reproaching him, as though by his means Ishbosheth and Abner were slain.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Sa 16:8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all…
2Sa 16:8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.
Ver. 8. The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul.] What blood was that? Saul he spared once and again, when but few men else would have done it, by his own confession. {1Sa 24:19} In the death of Ishbosheth and Abner it was well known he had no hand at all. But it may very well be, which some say, that Shimei and such like charged David, that he had stirred up the Philistines to make that invasion upon the land, wherein Saul and his sons were slain, and hence this false accusation. But was not David rightly punished by Shimei’s railing, for his hearkening so readily to Ziba’s flattering? Was not he justly spoiled of his honours, who had so unjustly spoiled Mephibosheth of his goods?
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Because thou art a bloody man.] Bloody he had been indeed, though not as Shimei meant it: and prayeth hard for pardon of that crimson sin. {Psa 51:14} God is just, though men be unjust.
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 All the blood of the house of Saul; either,
All the blood of the house of Saul; either,
1. The blood of Abner and Ish-bosheth; which he maliciously imputes to David, as if they had been killed by David’s contrivance; especially the former, because David did only give Joab hard words, as in policy he was obliged to do; but instead of punishing him, did reward and prefer him. Or,
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2. The death of Saul’s seven sons, 2Sa 21:8, which, though related after this, seems to have been done before; of which See Poole on "2Sa 15:7".
In thy mischief: the same mischief thou didst bring upon others, is now returned upon thy own head. Or, thy sin hath found thee out, and thou art now receiving the just punishment of it.
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 The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood…
The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul,.... Which he would suggest was shed by David, or, however, that he was the cause of its being shed; as if he had stirred up the Philistines to that battle in which Saul and his sons were slain, and had an hand secretly in the deaths of Ishbosheth and Abner, all which were false insinuations; and it may be the seven sons of Saul before this time, though after related, were delivered into the hands of the Gibeonites to be hanged, to which respect may be had:
in whose stead thou hast reigned; not by right, but by usurpation he suggests:
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and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; in this he seems to contradict himself; for if David had got the kingdom by usurpation, it would rather have, been delivered by the Lord into the hand of one of Saul's family, and not of David's:
and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief; punished for his sins; the mischief he had brought on others was retaliated to him:
because thou art a bloody man; guilty of slaying, as the Targum of shedding innocent blood, and so worthy of death.
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 Saul - Either,
Of Saul - Either,
1. The blood of Abner and Ishbosheth; which he imputes to David, as if they had been killed by David's contrivance: or,
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2. the death of Saul's seven sons, chap. xxi, 8, which, though related after this, seems to have been done before. Art taken - The same mischief thou didst bring upon others, is now returned upon thy own head.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain All the blood of the house of Saul -…
All the blood of the house of Saul - Shimei probably put to David’s account the death of Saul, and Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, slain in battle by the Philistines with whom David was in league; of Ish-bosheth, slain in consequence of David’s league with Abner; that of Abner himself, which he attributed to David’s secret orders; and all the 360 slain in the battle between Joab and Abner 2Sa 2:31. Some, too, think that the death of seven men of Saul’s immediate family 2Sa 21:8 had occurred before David’s flight, and was referred to by Shimei. Shimei’s hatred and virulence is an indication that the Benjamites resented the loss of royalty in their tribe, even in the palmiest days of David’s monarchy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. The blood of the house of Saul —…
8. The blood of the house of Saul — To his mind the murder of Abner and of Ishbosheth was brought about through David’s artifices, and the slaughter of the seven princes at Gibe-on (2Sa_21:8-9) may have been an affair of recent notoriety, for its date is uncertain.
In whose stead thou hast reigned — This was a charge against David that he was a usurper, and had attained the throne by violence.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. all the blood of the house of Saul]…
8. all the blood of the house of Saul] Shimei probably refers to the deaths of Saul and his sons at Gilboa, of Abner and Ish-bosheth by treacherous murder, charging David with the guilt of crimes which he had repudiated and punished: possibly also he regarded the execution of Saul’s sons (ch. 2Sa_21:1-9), which in all probability had taken place before this time, as a judicial murder. Shimei would not intend to refer to Uriah, though David would feel that it was for his death that the curse was not undeserved.
behold, thou art taken to thy mischief] Rather, behold, thou art in thy calamity. To is the original reading of 1611; in of ordinary editions first appeared in the edition of 1629. To thy mischief = to thy hurt, a free paraphrase of the Vulg. premunt te mala tua.
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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 16:8 The Lord is paying you back: Shimei interpreted…
16:8 The Lord is paying you back: Shimei interpreted Absalom’s rebellion as the Lord’s retribution. However, David was innocent (see study notes on 1:4, 15-16).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.