2 Samuel 19:8

⁶ You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! For you have made it clear today that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would have pleased you!

⁷ Now therefore get up! Go out and speak comfort to your servants, for I swear by the LORD that if you do not go out, not a man will remain with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the adversity that has befallen you from your youth until now!”

So the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home.

⁹ And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom.

¹⁰ But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”

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 the king got up and sat in the gate, and all the people were told: “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” So they all came before the king. Meanwhile, the Israelites had fled, each man to his home.
KJV: Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel had fled every man to his tent.
WEB: Then the king arose and sat in the gate. The people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” All the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent.
ASV: Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate: and all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent.
DARBY: Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate. And all the people came before the king. Now Israel had fled every man to his tent.
BLB: And the king arose and sat in the gate. And all the people declared, saying, “There is the king, sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the face of the king. For Israel had fled, each man to his tent.

ÅB: Da sto kongen opp og satte seg i porten, og da alt folket fikk vite at kongen satt i porten, kom de alle og gikk fram for kongen. Men Israel hadde flyktet, hver mann til sitt hjem.
OTB: Så reiste kongen seg og satte seg i porten. Og da det ble fortalt til hele folket, og det ble sagt: "Se, kongen sitter i porten," da kom hele folket fram for kongen. Nå hadde Israel flyktet, hver til sitt telt.
B1930: Da stod kongen op og satte sig i porten, og da alt folket fikk vite at kongen satt i porten, kom de alle og gikk frem for kongen. Men Israel hadde flyktet, hver mann til sitt hjem.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

2 Samuel 18:24
Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
Read in context
2 Samuel 18:4
“I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
Read in context
2 Kings 14:12
And Judah was routed before Israel, and every man fled to his home.
Read in context
2 Samuel 18:6–8
So David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel in the battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim.
Read in context
2 Samuel 15:2
He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out and ask, “What city are you from?” And if he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,”
Read in context
1 Kings 22:36
As the sun was setting, the cry rang out in the army: “Every man to his own city, and every man to his own land!”
Read in context
2 Samuel 18:17
They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
Read in context
2 Samuel 19:3
So they returned to the city quietly that day, as people steal away in humiliation after fleeing a battle.
Read in context