2 Samuel 13:15

13:15 Then Amnon greatly despised her. ¹  His disdain toward her surpassed the love he had previously felt toward her. ²  Amnon said to her, “Get up and leave!”

2 Samuel 13:22-28

13:22 But Absalom said nothing to Amnon, either bad or good, yet Absalom hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.

Absalom Has Amnon Put to Death

13:23 Two years later Absalom’s sheepshearers were in Baal Hazor, ³  near Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king’s sons. 13:24 Then Absalom went to the king and said, “My shearers have begun their work. ⁴  Let the king and his servants go with me.”

13:25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son. We shouldn’t all go. We shouldn’t burden you in that way.” Though Absalom ⁵  pressed ⁶  him, the king ⁷  was not willing to go. Instead, David ⁸  blessed him.

13:26 Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, ⁹  then let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?” 13:27 But when Absalom pressed him, he sent Amnon and all the king’s sons along with him.

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ¹⁰  and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” ¹¹ 

Amsal 26:24-25

26:24 The one who hates others disguises ¹²  it with his lips,

but he stores up ¹³  deceit within him. ¹⁴ 

26:25 When ¹⁵  he speaks graciously, ¹⁶  do not believe him, ¹⁷ 

for there are seven ¹⁸  abominations ¹⁹  within him.

Amsal 27:3

27:3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,

but vexation ²⁰  by a fool is more burdensome ²¹  than the two of them.

[13:15]  ¹ tn Heb “and Amnon hated her with very great hatred.”

[13:15]  ² tn Heb “for greater was the hatred with which he hated her than the love with which he loved her.”

[13:23]  ³ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[13:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “your servant has sheepshearers.” The phrase “your servant” also occurs at the end of the verse.

[13:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:25]  ⁶ tc Here and in v. 27 the translation follows 4QSam^a ויצפר (vayyitspar, “and he pressed”) rather than the MT וַיִּפְרָץ (vayyiprats, “and he broke through”). This emended reading seems also to underlie the translations of the LXX (καὶ ἐβιάσατο, kai ebiasato), the Syriac Peshitta (we’alseh), and Vulgate (cogeret eum).

[13:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:26]  ⁹ tn Heb “and not.”

[13:28]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[26:24]  ¹² tn The Niphal imperfect from נָכַר (nakhar) means “to act [or, treat] as a foreigner [or, stranger]; to misconstrue; to disguise.” The direct object (“it”) is not present in the Hebrew text but is implied. In this passage it means that the hater speaks what is “foreign” to his thought; in other words, he dissembles.

[26:24]  ¹³ tn Or “places; puts; lays up” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB).

[26:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “within him” (so KJV, ASV) or “in his midst”; NAB “in his inmost being.”

[26:24]  sn Hypocritical words may hide a wicked heart. The proverb makes an observation: One who in reality despises other people will often disguise that with what he says.

[26:25]  ¹⁵ tn The particle כִּי (ki) is here interpreted with a temporal nuance. It is also possible that it could be read as concessive (so NIV, NLT “Though”).

[26:25]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of the rare Piel form of חָנַן (khanan) is “to make gracious; to make favorable.” The subject is קוֹלוֹ (qolo, “his voice”), a metonymy of cause for what he says. The idea is that what he says is very gracious in its content and its effect.

[26:25]  ¹⁷ sn It may be that the placing of this proverb in this setting is designed to point out that the person speaking graciously is this wicked person who conceals an evil heart. Otherwise it may have in mind a person who has already proven untrustworthy but protests in order to conceal his plans. But even if that were not the connection, the proverb would still warn the disciple not to believe someone just because it sounded wonderful. It will take great discernment to know if there is sincerity behind the person’s words.

[26:25]  ¹⁸ sn The number “seven” is used in scripture as the complete number. In this passage it is not intended to be literally seven; rather, the expression means that there is complete or total abomination in his heart. Cf. TEV “his heart is filled to the brim with hate.”

[26:25]  ¹⁹ sn “Abomination” means something that is loathed. This is a description applied by the writer, for the hypocritical person would not refer to his plans this way.

[27:3]  ²⁰ tn The subject matter is the vexation produced by a fool. The term כַּעַס (ca’as) means “vexation” (ASV); provocation” (NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); “anger” (KJV “wrath”) and usually refers to undeserved treatment. Cf. NLT “the resentment caused by a fool.”

[27:3]  sn The same noun is used in 1 Sam 1:6, 16 for the “provocation” given to Hannah by Peninnah for being barren.

[27:3]  ²¹ sn The contrast is made between dealing with the vexation of a fool and physical labor (moving stones and sand). More tiring is the vexation of a fool, for the mental and emotional effort it takes to deal with it is more draining than physical labor. It is, in the sense of this passage, almost unbearable.