Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Samuel 14:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence: “Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “The Tekoa Parable Draws a Royal Decision.”
The invented sons secure escalating royal protection
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Samuel 14:4–20. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 14:4–20
Read 2 Samuel 14:18 with 14:4–20. The wording “Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing…” supplies one step in the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: The woman presents a threatened surviving son, secures escalating royal protection, applies the analogy to banished Absalom, and admits Joab's direction.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “The Tekoa Parable Draws a Royal Decision,” 2 Samuel 14:18 advances the thought unit through its next reported action, speech, or consequence through the wording “Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Samuel 14:1–3 establishes this prior movement: Joab perceives David's heart toward Absalom and instructs a wise woman from Tekoa to perform mourning and a scripted appeal. 2 Samuel 14:4–20 interprets or reframes what the preceding narrative has established; that demonstrated relationship, rather than sequence alone, explains its placement.
What Remains True
Consequential judgment requires truthful testimony, fair hearing, careful evidence, and protection from manipulation by people with greater access or power. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: The woman presents a threatened surviving son, secures escalating royal protection, applies the analogy to banished Absalom, and admits Joab's direction. In 2 Samuel 14:18, the concrete line “Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read 2 Samuel 14:4–20 — The Tekoa Parable Draws a Royal DecisionSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 2 Samuel 14:4-20, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, repeated verbs, names, syntax, and the base text behind translation and textual discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Sam.xml, 14:4-20
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: 2 Samuel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Unit-bounded wording, older-English clarification, textual witnesses, syntax, names, numbers, and major historical or literary notes actually printed for these verses.
Exact location: NET Bible 2 Samuel PDF, printed pp. 562–563, translation and all translator notes attached to 14:4-20
Open source ↗