Bible Strands
2 Samuel 19:27
and he has slandered your servant to my lord the king. Yet my lord the king is like the angel of God, so do what is good in your eyes.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Mephibosheth speaks to King David in Jerusalem, responding to David’s ruling to divide Saul’s estate between him and Ziba.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיְרַגֵּל (va-yə-rag-gēl) literally means “he has slandered” or “spied against,” denoting Ziba’s false accusation. The phrase כְּמַלְאָךְ הָאֱלֹהִים (kə-mal’āḵ hā-’ĕlōhîm) translates “like the angel of God,” applied by Mephibosheth to David’s judicial role.
The thread — The “angel of God” comparison appears in 2 Samuel 14:17 and 14:20 when the wise woman of Tekoa addresses David, and in 1 Samuel 29:9 when Achish speaks to David.
Why it lands — The text states that David should simply “do what is good in your eyes,” leaving the final judgment to royal discretion rather than demanding a specific outcome. A reader must recognize that the passage places the burden of impartial decision-making on the authority figure without prescribing the verdict.
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 he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the king; but my lord the king is as an angel of God: do therefore what is good in thine eyes.
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 14:17 And now your servant says, ‘May the word of my lord the king bring me rest, for my lord the king is able to discern good and evil, just like the angel of God. May the LORD your God be with you.’”
- 2 Samuel 14:20 Joab your servant has done this to bring about this change of affairs, but my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that happens in the land.”
- 1 Samuel 29:9 Achish replied, “I know that you are as pleasing in my sight as an angel of God. But the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go into battle with us.’
- 2 Samuel 16:3 “Where is your master’s grandson?” asked the king. And Ziba answered, “Indeed, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he has said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore to me the kingdom of my grandfather.’”
- Jeremiah 9:4 “Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
- Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- Psalms 15:3 who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,
- Psalms 101:5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.