What Does 2 Samuel 15:21 Mean in the King James?

And Ittai answered the king, and said, As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be.

2 Samuel 15:21 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The pledge is not that the king will survive, but that his servant will remain beside him whether he lives or dies.

THE MEANING

This verse speaks of a bond that holds when the outcome is unknown: the servant stays wherever the king is, even if that place is death. Loyalty here is measured by presence, not by safety.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that loyalty lasts only while the path remains safe or rewarding.

THE ROOT

עַבְדֶּךָ

avdekha

GROWS FROM

עבד

ʿ-b-d

To work or serve.

The servant is defined by service, and here that service takes the form of presence: wherever the king is, the servant is there too. The word carries a bond of allegiance beneath the English title.

ALSO GROWS

avad: Serve or work.

עָבַד

The verb shows the action inside the servant’s title: his loyalty is expressed through serving.

avodah: Service or labor.

עֲבֹדָה

This branch makes service a lived practice, giving weight to the servant’s promise to remain.

מְקוֹם

maqom

GROWS FROM

קום

q-w-m

To rise, stand, or remain established.

The word for place grows from the idea of standing or being established. Ittai’s promise ties his own standing to the king’s: wherever the king stands, there the servant will stand too.

ALSO GROWS

qum: Rise or stand.

קוּם

The root makes place more than a point on a map; it is where someone stands.

heqim: Raise or establish.

הֵקִים

This form shows how the same root can describe making something stand, echoing the firmness of Ittai’s pledge.

THE PATTERN

A bond of allegiance holds across changing circumstances, even when the path leads into danger or death.

And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:

Ruth 1:16 · KJVThe pledge makes loyalty a shared path: the speaker’s destination follows the one she is bound to.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 14:8 · KJVBelonging holds across both possibilities, with life and death inside the same allegiance.

Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

John 11:16 · KJVCompanionship extends into mortal danger, carrying the speaker toward death alongside the one he follows.

THE THREAD

O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thine handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds.

Psalm 116:16 · KJV

Psalm 116:16 uses the same root ⁨עבד⁩ (ʿ-b-d) for servant and joins that service to released bonds. The pairing lets service hold both belonging and freedom from restraint.

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