Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Samuel 17:29 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 29. 29And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition: “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Armies Gather and Local Allies Supply David.”
Read It With
- 2 Samuel 17:24–29
Read 2 Samuel 17:29 with 17:24–29. The wording “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were…” supplies one closing in the thought unit with its stated result or transition; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: Absalom crosses Jordan under Amasa while Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai bring extensive food and bedding to David's weary people.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Armies Gather and Local Allies Supply David,” 2 Samuel 17:29 closes the thought unit with its stated result or transition through the wording “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The narrative resumes the two armies' movement and David's material vulnerability after the messenger escape. Ahithophel's death is adjacent, but it does not cause Absalom's crossing or the allies' supplies.
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: Absalom crosses Jordan under Amasa while Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai bring extensive food and bedding to David's weary people. In 2 Samuel 17:29, the concrete line “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were….” Use authority to increase truthful access, protect people with less power, preserve meaningful dissent, and repair concrete harm instead of defending reputation or control. This response follows from the unit's own pattern—Absalom crosses Jordan under Amasa while Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai bring extensive food and bedding to David's weary people.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Samuel 17:24–29 — Armies Gather and Local Allies Supply DavidSources 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 17:24-29, 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, 17:24-29
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 17:24-29
Open source ↗