The Meaning of 2 Samuel 14:12 Explained

2 Samuel 14:12

KJV: Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

YLT: And the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, 'Speak.'

Darby: And the woman said, Let thy bondmaid, I pray thee, speak a word to my lord the king. And he said, Speak.

ASV: Then the woman said, Let thy handmaid, I pray thee, speak a word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then the woman  said,  Let thine handmaid,  I pray thee, speak  [one] word  unto my lord  the king.  And he said,  Say on. 

What does 2 Samuel 14:12 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 14:1-17 - Joab's Plea For The Fugitive
Joab had ends of his own to serve in securing the return of Absalom. Were the two sworn together to hatch a great plot? Or was Absalom shrewdly using Joab to advance his own selfish interests? David hesitated. If he recalled Absalom without punishment, the foundations of law and order would be shaken throughout the kingdom. Joab saw that in some way he must satisfy this natural conflict in the royal mind; and it was for this purpose that he summoned from Tekoa, a village twelve miles south of Jerusalem, this woman of unusual intelligence. By an apt parable she showed that on occasions even murder might be condoned.
In her discourse she dropped the golden sentence that even God devises means that His banished be not expelled. Yes, God has devised means, but how much they cost! In David's case there was no attempt to meet the demands of a broken law, but God's means include this. In the person of the Son of His love, He has satisfied the demands of law and honored them by Jesus' obedience unto the death of the Cross! He is just and the Justifier! Righteousness and peace kissed each other at the cross of Jesus. See Psalms 85:10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 14

1  Joab, suborning a widow of Tekoah to incline the king's heart to fetch Absalom,
21  brings him home to Jerusalem
25  Absalom's beauty, hair, and children
28  After two years, Absalom is brought into the king's presence by Joab

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 14:12 mean?

Therefore said the woman let speak please your maidservant to my lord the king [another] word and he said Say on -
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה תְּדַבֶּר־ נָ֧א שִׁפְחָתְךָ֛ אֶל־ אֲדֹנִ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ דָּבָ֑ר וַיֹּ֖אמֶר דַּבֵּֽרִי ס

וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙  Therefore  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה  the  woman 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
תְּדַבֶּר־  let  speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
נָ֧א  please 
Parse: Interjection
Root: נָא  
Sense: I (we) pray, now, please.
שִׁפְחָתְךָ֛  your  maidservant 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: שִׁפְחָה  
Sense: maid, maid-servant, slavegirl.
אֲדֹנִ֥י  my  lord 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: אָדֹון  
Sense: firm, strong, lord, master.
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
דָּבָ֑ר  [another]  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר  and  he  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
דַּבֵּֽרִי  Say  on 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation