What Does 2 Samuel 16:10 Mean in the King James?
And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The curse tries to make David negligible, but it does not dictate the next act.
THE MEANING
An insult can wound you without making retaliation inevitable. David sees the curse as held within the LORD’s word and refuses the sons of Zeruiah’s demand to answer it with violence. The verse holds the injury and the restraint in the same moment.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
An insult must be answered with force to restore honor.
THE ROOT
יְקַלֵּל
yəqallēl
GROWS FROM
קלל
qalal
To be light or slight; in the intensive form, to treat as contemptible, hence to curse.
The curse carries the sense of making someone light, casting him as negligible. David’s reply separates the force of the insult from the force of his own response.
ALSO GROWS
qal: Light or slight.
קַל
This form reveals the root’s sense of lightness beneath the curse: the speaker’s words diminish David.
qelalah: A curse or malediction.
קְלָלָה
This noun names speech that lowers or diminishes, the same action expressed by the verb in this verse.
דָּוִד
Dāwīd
GROWS FROM
דוד
dod
Beloved; David’s name carries the sense of the beloved one.
“David” in this verse is Dāwīd. The name associated with belovedness stands beside a curse that tries to make its target contemptible. The verse holds those opposing descriptions together without making the insult disappear.
ALSO GROWS
dōd: Beloved; also used for a beloved relative.
דּוֹד
The name’s connection to belovedness offers a counterpoint to the attempt to diminish David.
dōdîm: Love or affectionate endearments.
דּוֹדִים
This related word carries the same family’s language of affection, sharply contrasting with the hostile words directed at David.
THE PATTERN
An insult may wound, but it does not compel the injured person to echo it with retaliation.
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.THE THREAD
Let them curse, but bless thou: when they arise, let them be ashamed; but let thy servant rejoice.Psalm 109:28 uses יְקַלְלוּ (yəqallelû, “let them curse”), from the same root קלל (qalal) as “let him curse” here. The shared root places the diminishing force of a curse beside blessing, showing that the insult does not control what follows.
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