The Meaning of 2 Samuel 14:14 Explained

2 Samuel 14:14

KJV: For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.

YLT: for we do surely die, and are as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.

Darby: For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and God has not taken away his life, but devises means that the banished one be not expelled from him.

ASV: For we must needs die, and are as water split on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God take away life, but deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast from him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For we must needs  die,  and [are] as water  spilt  on the ground,  which cannot be gathered up again;  neither doth God  respect  [any] person:  yet doth he devise  means,  that his banished  be not expelled  from him. 

What does 2 Samuel 14:14 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 14:14 mean?

For surely we will die and [become] like water spilled on the ground which cannot be gathered up again and yet not does take away God a life but He devises means so that not are expelled from Him His banished ones
כִּי־ מ֣וֹת נָמ֔וּת וְכַמַּ֙יִם֙ הַנִּגָּרִ֣ים אַ֔רְצָה אֲשֶׁ֖ר לֹ֣א יֵאָסֵ֑פוּ וְלֹֽא־ יִשָּׂ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ נֶ֔פֶשׁ וְחָשַׁב֙ מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֛י יִדַּ֥ח מִמֶּ֖נּוּ נִדָּֽח

מ֣וֹת  surely 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
נָמ֔וּת  we  will  die 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
וְכַמַּ֙יִם֙  and  [become]  like  water 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
הַנִּגָּרִ֣ים  spilled 
Parse: Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: נָגַר 
Sense: to pour, run, flow, pour down.
אַ֔רְצָה  on  the  ground 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לֹ֣א  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יֵאָסֵ֑פוּ  be  gathered  up  again 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
וְלֹֽא־  and  yet  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
יִשָּׂ֤א  does  take  away 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
אֱלֹהִים֙  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
נֶ֔פֶשׁ  a  life 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
וְחָשַׁב֙  but  He  devises 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָשַׁב 
Sense: to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent, make a judgment, imagine, count.
מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹת  means 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural
Root: מַחֲשָׁבָה  
Sense: thought, device.
לְבִלְתִּ֛י  so  that  not 
Parse: Preposition-l
Root: בִּלְתִּי  
Sense: not, except adv.
יִדַּ֥ח  are  expelled 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָדַח 
Sense: to impel, thrust, drive away, banish.
מִמֶּ֖נּוּ  from  Him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
נִדָּֽח  His  banished  ones 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: נָדַח 
Sense: to impel, thrust, drive away, banish.