Bible Strands

2 Samuel 14:15

Now therefore, I have come to present this matter to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. Your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king. Perhaps he will grant the request of his maidservant.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — A wise woman from Tekoa addresses King David directly after he has ordered Joab to summon her. She arrives at this moment to formally petition him regarding the fate of her son, framing her appeal as a desperate plea born from public fear.

The words — The Hebrew עַתָּה (‘a.tah) translates literally as “now,” marking the decisive shift from her introductory statement to the core petition. The phrase לְדַבֵּר אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲדֹנִי (le./da.Ber ‘el ha./Me.lekh ‘a.do.N/i) means “to speak to my lord the king,” emphasizing her deliberate approach to royal authority.

The thread — This pattern of a vulnerable petitioner appealing to a ruler for mercy echoes in 1 Kings 3:16–28, where two women bring a custody dispute before Solomon, and in Esther 7:3–4, where Esther risks her life to petition Ahasuerus for her people’s survival.

Why it lands — The text states that the petitioner approaches the king out of fear and hope, not entitlement. It asks the reader to recognize that desperate appeals often require deliberate, respectful engagement with authority, even when the stakes involve life and inheritance.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְ֠עַתָּהVe./'a.tahand/ nowאֲשֶׁר־'a.Sher-whenבָּ֜אתִיBa.tiI have comeלְדַבֵּ֨רle./da.Berto/ speakאֶל־'el-toהַמֶּ֤לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ kingאֲדֹנִי֙'a.do.N/ilord/ myאֶת־'et-<obj.>הַדָּבָ֣רha./da.Varthe/ wordהַזֶּ֔הha./Zeh<the>/ thisכִּ֥יkithatיֵֽרְאֻ֖נִיye.re.'U./nithey have made afraid/ meהָעָ֑םha./'Amthe/ peopleוַתֹּ֤אמֶרva./To.merand/ she saidשִׁפְחָֽתְךָ֙shif.cha.te./Khamaidservant/ yourאֲדַבְּרָה־'a.da.be.rah-let me speakנָּ֣אna'pleaseאֶל־'el-toהַמֶּ֔לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ kingאוּלַ֛י'u.Laiperhapsיַעֲשֶׂ֥הya.'a.Sehhe will doהַמֶּ֖לֶךְha./Me.lekhthe/ kingאֶת־'et-<obj.>דְּבַ֥רde.Var[the] word ofאֲמָתֽוֹ׃'a.ma.T/omaidservant/ his

King James Version

Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.