Bible Strands
2 Samuel 15:23
Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator describes David’s departure from Jerusalem as his followers and the surrounding population accompany him. At this moment, the entire countryside weaves through the procession toward the wilderness route.
The words — The Hebrew בּוֹכִים (bo.Khim) translates literally to "were weeping," modified by קוֹל גָּדוֹל (kol ga.Dol), meaning "a great voice." These terms record the audible, collective mourning of the crowd as they pass by.
The thread — The Kidron Valley reappears in 1 Kings 2:37 as a geographical marker of divine warning and in John 18:1 as the crossing point before Jesus’ arrest. The "way of the wilderness" parallels the desert route used during Israel’s earlier exodus.
Why it lands — The text records a public, audible procession that forces the reader to observe the physical reality of political collapse. It requires the reader to note how communal grief accompanies the departure of authority without softening the historical weight of the event.
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
King James Version
And all the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 16:2 “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
- 1 Kings 2:37 On the day you go out and cross the Kidron Valley, know for sure that you will die; your blood will be on your own head.”
- John 18:1 After Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples across the Kidron Valley, where they entered a garden.
- 1 Kings 15:13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
- 2 Chronicles 29:16 So the priests went inside the house of the LORD to cleanse it, and they brought out to the courtyard all the unclean things that they found in the temple of the LORD. Then the Levites took these things and carried them out to the Kidron Valley.
- Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea
- Matthew 3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
- Luke 1:80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until the time of his public appearance to Israel.
- Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.