2 Samuel 13:4

Absalom Amnon Tamar

² Amnon was sick with frustration over his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed implausible for him to do anything to her.

³ Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,

so he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”

⁵ Jonadab told him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare it in my sight so I may watch her and eat it from her hand.’”

⁶ So Amnon lay down and feigned illness. When the king came to see him, Amnon said, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand.”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: so he asked Amnon, “Why are you, the son of the king, so depressed morning after morning? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
KJV: And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.
WEB: He said to him, “Why, son of the king, are you so sad from day to day? Won’t you tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
ASV: And he said unto him, Why, O son of the king, art thou thus lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom`s sister.
DARBY: And he said to him, Why dost thou, the king's son, get thinner from morning to morning? Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
BLB: And he said to him, “Why [are] you so depressed, son of the king, morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “I am loving Tamar, sister of Absalom my brother.”

ÅB: Han sa til ham: Hvorfor ser du så dårlig ut, kongesønn, morgen etter morgen? Vil du ikke si meg det? Da sa Amnon til ham: Jeg elsker Tamar, min bror Absaloms søster.
OTB: Han sa til ham: "Hvorfor er du, kongens sønn, så deprimert morgen etter morgen? Vil du ikke fortelle meg det?" Da sa Amnon til ham: "Jeg er forelsket i Tamar, søsteren til min bror Absalom."
B1930: Han sa til ham: Hvorfor ser du så dårlig ut, kongesønn, morgen efter morgen? Vil du ikke si mig det? Da sa Amnon til ham: Jeg elsker Tamar, min bror Absaloms søster.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
Read in context
Isaiah 3:9
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
Read in context
Leviticus 18:9
You must not have sexual relations with your sister, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same home or elsewhere.
Read in context
Esther 5:13–14
Yet none of this satisfies me as long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”
Read in context
Micah 7:3
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
Read in context
Jeremiah 8:12
Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they will collapse, says the LORD.
Read in context
Leviticus 20:17
If a man marries his sister, whether the daughter of his father or of his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered the nakedness of his sister; he shall bear his iniquity.
Read in context
1 Kings 21:7
But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
Read in context