2 Samuel 13:5

2Sa 13:5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see [it], and eat [it] at her hand.

Ver. 5. Lay thee down on thy bed, &c.] Pestilent counsel; such as is oft instilled into young princes, to their utter undoing, and the public mischief: Nero, for instance, and our Henry III, who was called Regni dilapadator; and another German prince, of whom it was said, Esset alius, si esset apud alios, he would have been better if he had had better men about him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 13:5. Jonadab said, Make thyself sick — He advises Amnon to pretend that his stomach was so weak that he could eat nothing that his servants dressed, and therefore desired his sister, who understood how to make delicate dishes, might come and prepare something that he could relish. Ah! false, treacherous, and base flatterer! that could thus tempt thy prince to so vile a crime! More than the poison of asps is under the lips of such friends and counsellors.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Here we see that there is no enterprise so wicked that can lack counsel to further it.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(5) Make thyself sick.—Rather, Feign thyself sick. It has already been mentioned in 2Sa_13:2 that Amnon “fell sick.” That was the real pining of ungoverned and ungratified passion; this was a crafty feigning of sickness. Yet the miserable condition to which Amnon was brought by the former would give colour and plausibility to the latter.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5. make thyself sick] Feign thyself sick, and so in 2Sa_13:6.

to see thee] To visit in sickness, as in Psa_41:6; 2Ki_8:29.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jonadab said unto him,.... Being a subtle man, he presently formed a scheme to relieve him, and open a way for the enjoyment of what he desired:

lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick; feign thyself sick, pretend that thou art so, by lying down on the bed, and making complaints of one kind or another:

and when thy father cometh to see thee; as he quickly would, after hearing of his illness, being very affectionate to his children:

say unto him, I pray thee let, my sister Tamar come, and give me meat; here he is directed to call her not Absalom's sister, but his own, the more to cover his ill design upon her:

and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand; pretending that his stomach was very weak and squeamish, that he could not eat anything which his servants dressed for him, and which he did not see done with his own eyes.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Make thyself sick - “Feign thyself to be ill.” (Compare 2Sa 14:2.)

That I may see it - He was to feign that he could not fancy anything that came from the kitchen, but that if he saw it cooked he should be able to eat it.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

To me. Hebrew, "and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it," &c. (Haydock) --- He pretends to be disgusted with food, (Calmet) unless he see his sister make it ready. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Let my sister Tamar come; so he calls her, to prevent the suspicion of any dishonest design upon so near a relation, whom neither nature nor respect and affection would permit him to vitiate.

Eat it at her hand; pretending that his stomach was so nice that he could eat nothing but what he saw dressed, and that by a person whom he much affected.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

When thy father cometh to see thee. While the daughters lived in Oriental seclusion in the dwellings of their mothers, the sons seem to have had separate apartments assigned them in the palace. And David evidently was an affectionate father, who even went to the abodes of his sons in a loving and unceremonious way, to see how they fared. But Jonadab abused the king"s affection, and made it the very means of removing the obstacles in the way of his daughter"s disgrace. And like the whole tribe of flatterers and time servers, he employed his cleverness to gratify his patron"s momentary passion, indifferent to the miserable consequences which must inevitably follow. For the least punishment which Amnon would have to bear would be exclusion from the succession to the crown, besides disgrace and his father"s anger. Absalom, who was three or four years younger than Ashen, he despised, and counted for nothing.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

My sister - So he calls her, to prevent the suspicion of any dishonest design upon so near a relation. At her hand - Pretending, his stomach was so nice, that he could eat nothing but what he saw dressed, and that by a person whom he much esteemed.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Jonadab

See how you translated this man's name in 2 Samuel 13:03.

eat it from her hand ... I may eat from her hand

This is a request for her to serve food to him personally. AT: "have her serve it to me herself ... she may serve it to me to eat" (See: Idiom)

pretended to be sick

This means he gave a false appearance of being ill.

for my sickness in front of me

The food is not for his sickness, but rather it is for him, because he is sick. The phrase "in front of me" is a request for Tamar to prepare the food in his presence. AT: "in front of me because I am sick" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

ancestor

send

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

The meal. The meal.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.