And the king, and all the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves there.

2 SAMUEL 16:14KJV
Know the Bible

2 Samuel 16:14 (KJV)

What does 2 Samuel 16:14 mean?

2 Samuel 16:14 describes a pause in King David’s flight from his son Absalom. David and the people traveling with him reach a stopping place exhausted. There they regain their strength before the story turns to events elsewhere.

The narrator includes both the king and his companions in the description of weariness. Coming just after Shimei’s curses and stone-throwing, the verse gives a brief picture of the strain on David’s company.

The Hebrew behind 2 Samuel 16:14

  • “weary” — עָיֵף (ʿayef): This word means tired or exhausted. It can describe physical fatigue, as it does here after the company’s journey.
  • “refreshed” — נָפַשׁ (nafash): This word can mean to rest or regain strength. In this verse, it pictures the travelers recovering from their exhaustion at the place they reached.

Why 2 Samuel 16:14 matters

  • The pause belongs to David’s company as a whole. The words “all the people that were with him” place the king among those sharing the journey and its hardships.

  • David has reached a stopping place, but the account of Absalom’s challenge is still unfolding. After the company rests “there,” the next verse turns to Absalom’s arrival in Jerusalem.

Where else these words appear

“refreshed” Hebrew H5314 · used in 3 verses

  • Exodus 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
  • Exodus 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

“weary” Hebrew H5889 · used in 17 verses

  • Genesis 25:29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
  • 2 Samuel 17:29 And 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.
  • Isaiah 5:27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: