2 Samuel 18:32

2Sa 18:32 And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do [thee] hurt, be as [that] young man [is].

Ver. 32. Is the young man Absalom safe?] Omnis in Ascanio, &c. See still his excessive love and unbounded affection to this untoward son of his, in whom there was nothing good but only his name. Such unmortified affection is as soon wounded, as a scald head broken.

Be as that young man is,] viz., Dead; not damned, as some, both ancient and modern writers, conclude that Absalom was. But who can tell that?

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_18:32

The enemies of my lord the king . . . be as that young man is.

Cushis wish

I. a prophetical prayer.

1. Prayer is of two sorts: for or against. As

(1) for good; so,

(2) against the evil; both, things and persons. This is against a kind of prayer; indeed, an imprecation. Two things give forth themselves in the prayer. The parties are first the kings enemies; then those that rise up against him (that is) the kings rebels. Two diverse kinds: neither superfluous. For there be no tautologies in Scripture: no doubling the point there, but with some advantage, ever. The wish is that they may be as Absalom. And two things are in that wish: Be as he; that is, not perish only (that is, not all), but perish, and so perish as he did. How was that? Hanging yet alive, thrust through with three darts. As he, in his end; as he, in the manner of his end. That the heads that contrive may hang as high as his: and the hearts that affect be thrust through as was his: thrice through, though once would serve.

II. A prophecy. That so he wished: and that, as he wished, so he foretold: and as he foretold, so it came to pass. All that rose after, fell as fast as they rose.

III. Last of all that this prayer or prophecy is not pent or shut up in Davids days: not to end with him. It reacheth unto these of ours; hath his force and vigour still; hath and shall have, unto the worlds end. God heard him praying, and inspired him prophesying. As it came to pass in Absalom, so did it in those that rode after him: that rose against David, that rose against many others since David, and namely against ours. So it hath been hitherto: and so ever may it be. Cushi, not only a priest, to pray that so they be; but a prophet, to foretell, that so they shall be. (Bishop Lancelot Andrewes.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Sa 18:32-33. The enemies of my Lord the king be as that young man is — A decent way this of informing him that Absalom was dead. And the king was much moved — So that we do not find he made any inquiry concerning the manner of his death, or any of the particulars of the victory. And went up to the chamber over the gate — That he might, in private, give vent to his distress; yet he could not refrain from tears and lamentations, even till he got thither; but was heard crying out as he went, O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! — Words most passionate, and dictated by his excessive love to Absalom, and grief for his death; which made him vent himself in expressions which were very inconsiderate, especially in wishing he had died for him. “The king’s command to spare Absalom,” says Delaney, “was an extraordinary instance of mercy, equalled only in Him who, dying, prayed for his murderers; yet it is to be accounted for from his fatherly fondness, and the benignity of his nature. But there is something astonishing in this excess of grief for such a reprobate; and I confess it is to me utterly unaccountable from any other principle than the sad and shocking reflection of his having died with all his sins upon his head, and gone down quick to perdition.” Certainly a deep sense of Absalom’s eternal state, as dying in his sins, together with the consideration, that David himself by his sins had been the occasion of his death, might be the principal cause of the excessive sorrow which he felt, and thus expressed.

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

Verse 32. Is the young man Absalom safe?] This was the utmost of his solicitude, and it well merited the reproof which Joab gave him, 2Sa 19:5.

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

(32) Absalom.—To the Cushite’s tidings David replies with the same question as before; but this messenger does not appreciate the state of the king’s feelings, and answers with sufficient plainness, though in courteous phrase, that Absalom is dead.

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

And the king said unto Cushi, is the young man Absalom safe?.... The same question that was put to Ahimaaz, Sa2 18:29; which shows what lay nearest his heart, and was uppermost in his mind:

and Cushi answered, the enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is, which was tacitly saying he was dead, and so David understood it; and he expressed it in such a manner, that David could not be displeased with the messenger; though the message was grievous to him.

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

Is. This was as much as to tell plainly that he was dead, (Menochius) or at least, a prisoner. But David understood him right. (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).

May they perish and be cut off, as he is.

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

Is the young man, etc.? Alarm for Absalom is the dominant feeling in David"s mind; and as Cushi had been sent for the very purpose, he at once communicates the news to him in words that leave no doubt of his meaning.

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

When asked about the welfare of Absalom, the Cushite replied, "May it happen to the enemies of my lord the king, and all who have risen up against thee for evil (i.e., to do thee harm), as to the young man." The death of Absalom was indicated clearly enough in these words.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)