2 Samuel 16:8

2Sa 16:8 The LORD hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned; and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and, behold, thou [art taken] in thy mischief, because thou [art] a bloody man.

Ver. 8. The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul.] What blood was that? Saul he spared once and again, when but few men else would have done it, by his own confession. {1Sa 24:19} In the death of Ishbosheth and Abner it was well known he had no hand at all. But it may very well be, which some say, that Shimei and such like charged David, that he had stirred up the Philistines to make that invasion upon the land, wherein Saul and his sons were slain, and hence this false accusation. But was not David rightly punished by Shimei’s railing, for his hearkening so readily to Ziba’s flattering? Was not he justly spoiled of his honours, who had so unjustly spoiled Mephibosheth of his goods?

Because thou art a bloody man.] Bloody he had been indeed, though not as Shimei meant it: and prayeth hard for pardon of that crimson sin. {Psa 51:14} God is just, though men be unjust.

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.

16:8 The Lord is paying you back: Shimei interpreted Absalom’s rebellion as the Lord’s retribution. However, David was innocent (see study notes on 1:4, 15-16).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Reproaching him, as though by his means Ishbosheth and Abner were slain.

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

8. all the blood of the house of Saul] Shimei probably refers to the deaths of Saul and his sons at Gilboa, of Abner and Ish-bosheth by treacherous murder, charging David with the guilt of crimes which he had repudiated and punished: possibly also he regarded the execution of Saul’s sons (ch. 2Sa_21:1-9), which in all probability had taken place before this time, as a judicial murder. Shimei would not intend to refer to Uriah, though David would feel that it was for his death that the curse was not undeserved.

behold, thou art taken to thy mischief] Rather, behold, thou art in thy calamity. To is the original reading of 1611; in of ordinary editions first appeared in the edition of 1629. To thy mischief = to thy hurt, a free paraphrase of the Vulg. premunt te mala tua.

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.

The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul,.... Which he would suggest was shed by David, or, however, that he was the cause of its being shed; as if he had stirred up the Philistines to that battle in which Saul and his sons were slain, and had an hand secretly in the deaths of Ishbosheth and Abner, all which were false insinuations; and it may be the seven sons of Saul before this time, though after related, were delivered into the hands of the Gibeonites to be hanged, to which respect may be had:

in whose stead thou hast reigned; not by right, but by usurpation he suggests:

and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son; in this he seems to contradict himself; for if David had got the kingdom by usurpation, it would rather have, been delivered by the Lord into the hand of one of Saul's family, and not of David's:

and behold, thou art taken in thy mischief; punished for his sins; the mischief he had brought on others was retaliated to him:

because thou art a bloody man; guilty of slaying, as the Targum of shedding innocent blood, and so worthy of death.

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

All the blood of the house of Saul - Shimei probably put to David’s account the death of Saul, and Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, slain in battle by the Philistines with whom David was in league; of Ish-bosheth, slain in consequence of David’s league with Abner; that of Abner himself, which he attributed to David’s secret orders; and all the 360 slain in the battle between Joab and Abner 2Sa 2:31. Some, too, think that the death of seven men of Saul’s immediate family 2Sa 21:8 had occurred before David’s flight, and was referred to by Shimei. Shimei’s hatred and virulence is an indication that the Benjamites resented the loss of royalty in their tribe, even in the palmiest days of David’s monarchy.

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

All the blood of the house of Saul; either,

1. The blood of Abner and Ish-bosheth; which he maliciously imputes to David, as if they had been killed by David’s contrivance; especially the former, because David did only give Joab hard words, as in policy he was obliged to do; but instead of punishing him, did reward and prefer him. Or,

2. The death of Saul’s seven sons, 2Sa 21:8, which, though related after this, seems to have been done before; of which See Poole on "2Sa 15:7".

In thy mischief: the same mischief thou didst bring upon others, is now returned upon thy own head. Or, thy sin hath found thee out, and thou art now receiving the just punishment of it.

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

8. The blood of the house of Saul — To his mind the murder of Abner and of Ishbosheth was brought about through David’s artifices, and the slaughter of the seven princes at Gibe-on (2Sa_21:8-9) may have been an affair of recent notoriety, for its date is uncertain.

In whose stead thou hast reigned — This was a charge against David that he was a usurper, and had attained the throne by violence.

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

Of Saul - Either,

1. The blood of Abner and Ishbosheth; which he imputes to David, as if they had been killed by David's contrivance: or,

2. the death of Saul's seven sons, chap. xxi, 8, which, though related after this, seems to have been done before. Art taken - The same mischief thou didst bring upon others, is now returned upon thy own head.

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