John Gill Commentary


John Gill Commentary
"And the woman of Tekoa said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father`s house; and the king and his throne be guiltless." — 2 Samuel 14:9 (ASV)
And the woman of Tekoah said to the king, my lord and king ,
&c.] With much vehemence, and yet with great respect, fearing an inquisition into her case; which it would not bear, being a fable, and being very desirous of having sentence on it immediately pronounced:
the iniquity [be] on me and on my father's house ;
let the crime be imputed to me and my family, and punishment inflicted on us for it, if I have misrepresented the case, told lies, and deceived the king:
and the king and his throne [be] guiltless ;
let neither he nor his kingdom be charged with any sin, or suffer any damage on that account: or else the sense is, supposing that the king through much business should forget and neglect this affair; and her son should be put to death, through the violence and rage of the family; then she wishes that the fault and punishment of such neglect might not fall upon the king and his kingdom, but upon her and her family: in this form she put it, for the honour of the king, and because she would not be thought to wish ill to him and his kingdom; yet tacitly suggests, that should this be the case, he and his kingdom must expect to answer and suffer for it.