Bible Strands
2 Samuel 16:9
Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Abishai son of Zeruiah addresses King David while David flees Jerusalem and encounters Shimei cursing him from the hillside. He demands permission to cross over and execute the man.
The words — יְקַלֵּל (ye.kal.lēl) translates literally as "he will curse" or "let him curse," expressing Abishai's immediate demand for lethal retaliation against Shimei's verbal assault.
The thread — The insult "dead dog" repeats David's self-description in 1 Samuel 24:14 and Mephibosheth's humility in 2 Samuel 9:8, while Exodus 22:28 establishes the boundary against cursing a ruler.
Why it lands — The text records the raw impulse to defend royal honor through violence before David's restraint in the following verse. It requires the reader to examine whether perceived authority justifies immediate retaliation or demands patient endurance.
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
Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head.
Cross-references
- Exodus 22:28 You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.
- 2 Samuel 9:8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”
- 1 Samuel 24:14 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea?
- 2 Samuel 3:8 Abner was furious over Ish-bosheth’s accusation. “Am I the head of a dog that belongs to Judah?” he asked. “All this time I have been loyal to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends. I have not delivered you into the hand of David, but now you accuse me of wrongdoing with this woman!
- 1 Samuel 26:6 And David asked Ahimelech the Hittite and Abishai son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, “Who will go down with me to Saul in the camp?” “I will go with you,” answered Abishai.
- 2 Samuel 3:30 (Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
- Job 31:30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin by asking for his life with a curse—
- Jeremiah 40:13 Meanwhile, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the armies in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah
- Luke 9:54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- Acts 23:5 “Brothers,” Paul replied, “I was not aware that he was the high priest, for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”