Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
2 Samuel 17:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
The narrator attributes counsel reversal to the LORD's judgment on Absalom while still showing Hushai's rhetoric and strategic action.
Hushai calls Ahithophel's advice untimely
This verse is one part of that explanation in 2 Samuel 17:5–14. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 17:5–14
Read 2 Samuel 17:14 with 17:5–14. The wording “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than…” supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Hushai invokes David's skill and the army's fury, proposes a massive personal campaign, and wins Absalom's approval as the narrator identifies divine purpose.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Hushai Counters with a Delaying Spectacle,” 2 Samuel 17:14 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: 2 Samuel 17:1–4 establishes this prior movement: Ahithophel asks for troops to pursue the exhausted David immediately, kill only the king, and return the people. 2 Samuel 17:5–14 continues the narrative consequence; that demonstrated relationship, rather than sequence alone, explains its placement.
Follow the Context
- Opening movement: Hushai invokes David's skill and the army's fury, proposes a massive personal campaign.
- Developing movement or outcome: wins Absalom's approval as the narrator identifies divine purpose.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than…”
In plain language: The narrator attributes counsel reversal to the LORD's judgment on Absalom while still showing Hushai's rhetoric and strategic action.
2 Samuel 17:14 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition by recording “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than….” This line matters because the narrator attributes counsel reversal to the LORD's judgment on Absalom while still showing Hushai's rhetoric and strategic action.
Why it matters: This wording carries a material textual, literary, historical, royal-power, violence, consent, trauma, covenant, reception, or misuse boundary.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
2 Samuel 17:14 does not permit the wording “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than…” to be read apart from the selected verse's context. The narrator's theological conclusion does not make every tactic in Hushai's speech morally exemplary, authorize manipulation, or prove that successful counsel always reveals divine approval.
What Remains True
Faithful leadership is measured by truth, restraint, justice, repair, and the treatment of people with less power rather than by title, victory, popularity, or narrative prominence. In this unit, that truth is tested by the concrete movement: Hushai invokes David's skill and the army's fury, proposes a massive personal campaign, and wins Absalom's approval as the narrator identifies divine purpose. In 2 Samuel 17:14, the concrete line “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
Teach It Back
Explain 2 Samuel 17:14's role in 17:5–14. Paraphrase “And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than…”, name the ancient royal or household horizon, state one material uncertainty, keep one vulnerable or affected person visible, and identify one conclusion the verse does not authorize.
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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 17:5–14 — Hushai Counters with a Delaying SpectacleSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
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 17:5-14, 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, 17:5-14
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. 566–568, translation and all translator notes attached to 17:5-14
Open source ↗