2 Samuel 16:18

2Sa 16:18 And Hushai said unto Absalom, Nay; but whom the LORD, and this people, and all the men of Israel, choose, his will I be, and with him will I abide.

Ver. 18. His will I be, and with him will I abide.] His argument had been good, saith Martyr, if David had been dead, and the state had generally accepted of Absalom for their king: thus the Romans obeyed Julius Caesar, and the whole empire Phocas. But here it was otherwise.

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 16:18. Hushai said, Nay, but whom the Lord, &c. — Hushai gave him to understand, that his allegiance was governed by other principles than those of private friendship; that the appointment of God and the election of his people determined him in the object of his duty: and what should hinder him from serving the son with as much fidelity as he had served the father? The attentive reader will observe that this salutation and whole apology are evidently as evasive, and as well calculated to delude, as art could contrive them; for he neither prays personally for Absalom, nor professes allegiance to him; yet the bait took, and Absalom’s self-sufficiency, gross as the delusion was, swallowed it whole. — Delaney.

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

Verse 18. Whom the Lord and this people - choose] Here is an equivocation; Hushai meant in his heart that God and all the people of Israel had chosen David; but he spake so as to make Absalom believe that he spoke of him: for whatever of insincerity may appear in this, Hushai is alone answerable. What he says afterwards may be understood in the same way.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And Hushai said to Absalom,.... In answer to his questions:

nay, but whom the Lord, and his people, and all the men of Israel choose: here again he speaks very ambiguously; for this circumlocution, or descriptive character of the king of Israel, better agrees with David, whom he might bear in mind, than with Absalom; for the Lord had chosen David, and he was anointed by his order, and all the people of Israel had chosen and anointed him likewise; but as for Absalom, it was only a part of them that had declared for him, nor was there any evidence of the Lord's choosing him; though Hushai undoubtedly would be under stood of him, and as interpreting the voice of the people to be the voice of God:

his will I be, and with him will I abide; though he designed no such thing, which was a great piece of dissimulation and hypocrisy; and if he meant David, it was a piece of deceit and equivocation: there is a various reading in the first clause; we follow the marginal reading, "to him" or "his", but the textual reading is "not": and both may be taken in by rendering the words by an interrogation, "shall I, or should I not be his" (d)? I will; that is, be his servant, faithfully obey his commands, be closely attached to him, and continue with him as a loyal subject.

(d) "non ero", Montanus; "non essem ejus?" Junius & Tremellius.

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

Chosen. (Vox populi, vox Dei) Private people are not commonly able, or allowed, to judge of the right, which the prince has to the throne. But here Absalom was manifestly an usurper; and many still adhered to David. (Calmet) --- Chusai assumes the character of a courtier, and flatters the prince; (Salien) who ought to have been on his guard. See chap. xv. 34. (Calmet)

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).

Though as a private person I owed and paid friendship to David whilst he was king; yet I must make all my obligations give place to the authority of God, who putteth down and setteth up kings at this pleasure; and to the common sense and decree of the whole body of the nation. But Hushai expresseth himself very cautiously; for though he would be thought to understand Absalom, yet in truth this character did not agree to him, whom neither God nor all the people had chosen, bout only a part, and that the worst part of them.

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

18. This people — Referring to the multitudes that accompanied Absalom into Jerusalem. He professes that with him the voice of the people is the voice of Jehovah. It can hardly be said that the words of Hushai are equivocal, and so put that he could have meant David as well as Absalom, for in the next verse he plainly pledges himself to serve the prince as he had done his father. He used deceit and falsehood; but in his case it was a stratagem of war, and is to be regarded as any other strategic military measure designed to deceive an enemy. See note on 2Sa_15:34.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The men of Israel. Here and in ver. 15 the men of Israel are not contrasted with the men of Judah, but include them. (see 2Sa_15:10) Absalom"s rebellion began at Hebron, in Judaea, and the selection of Amasa, a first cousin both of David and Joab, as commander-in-chief, suggests the conclusion that Absalom"s chief strength lay in David"s own tribe, though men from all the tribes on the west of the Jordan had also flocked to his standard. Besides them, Hushai speaks of this people, that is, the citizens of Jerusalem. For, while there had been general lamentation at David"s departure, (2Sa_15:23) yet the citizens had admitted Absalom without a struggle, and submitted to him. David"s adherents are also constantly called "the people," because they did not belong to any special tribe, but were drawn indifferently from them all.

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