Bible Strands
2 Samuel 19:20
For your servant knows that I have sinned, so here I am today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Shimei, a member of Saul’s lineage, addresses King David as the monarch returns to Jerusalem. He arrives ahead of the house of Joseph to publicly acknowledge his past rebellion and position himself before the king.
The words — The Hebrew חָטָאתִי (cha.Ta.ti) literally means “I have sinned,” serving as a direct admission of guilt. It is immediately followed by בָאתִי (Va.ti), “I have come,” to mark his physical submission and present stance before the ruler.
The thread — Shimei’s preemptive confession directly responds to his cursing of David in 2 Samuel 16:5 during the king’s flight. His claim of precedence among the house of Joseph parallels Jacob’s deliberate blessing of Ephraim over Manasseh in Genesis 48:14, 20.
Why it lands — The text states that acknowledged guilt must be coupled with physical submission before royal pardon is considered. It requires the reader to evaluate whether public admission justifies political forgiveness or demands retribution.
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
For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
Cross-references
- Genesis 48:14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and put it on the head of Ephraim, the younger; and crossing his hands, he put his left on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
- Genesis 48:20 So that day Jacob blessed them and said: “By you shall Israel pronounce this blessing: ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
- 2 Samuel 16:5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
- 2 Samuel 19:9 And all the people throughout the tribes of Israel were arguing, “The king rescued us from the hand of our enemies and delivered us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled the land because of Absalom.
- 1 Kings 12:20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
- 1 Kings 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel.
- Psalms 78:34 When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Jeremiah 22:23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
- Hosea 4:15 Though you prostitute yourself, O Israel, may Judah avoid such guilt! Do not journey to Gilgal, do not go up to Beth-aven, and do not swear on oath, ‘As surely as the LORD lives!’
- Hosea 5:3 I know all about Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me. For now, O Ephraim, you have turned to prostitution; Israel is defiled.