2 Samuel 13:26
ESV
Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us." And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?"
NIV
Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?"
NASB
Then Absalom said, 'If not, please have my brother Amnon go with us.' But the king said to him, 'Why should he go with you?'
CSB
"If not," Absalom said, "please let my brother Amnon go with us." The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?"
NLT
Well, then,' Absalom said, 'if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?' 'Why Amnon?' the king asked.
KJV
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?
NKJV
Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”
What does 2 Samuel 13:26 mean?
Absalom is deftly using his native honor / shame culture to kill his brother. His sheep are ready to be sheared; it's a time of great celebration. He approaches his father, King David, and asks him to bring his servants and come to a feast. David honors him by not refusing outright. Instead, he insists that Absalom shouldn't be responsible to feed that many people (2 Samuel 13:24–25). Having refused a request, David is somewhat in Absalom's debt. So Absalom asks for what he really wants: for Amnon to come.Amnon is David's oldest son and Absalom's half-brother. Two years prior, Amnon raped Absalom's full sister, Tamar, and refused to marry her as he ought to have. David did nothing. Absalom has been quietly plotting (2 Samuel 13:14–17, 21–23).
It's not clear how much David suspects about the situation. Sending Amnon outside the protection of the city, amid the servants of Absalom, put him in great danger. His question here may be a sign that David senses a plot. He questions Absalom. Absalom has barely even spoken to or of Amnon this whole time (2 Samuel 13:22). Why would he invite his brother now? Is Amnon to be David's representative? Or is Absalom planning something?
Absalom pivots slightly and asks that all his brothers come. At this point, David may think that Absalom just wants all his brothers. He may assume that Absalom would never attempt violence with so many witnesses. Either way, he's wrong, but he sends his sons to Absalom's celebration (2 Samuel 13:27).
Such family celebrations seem to be part of the culture. Job's sons held feasts on their birthdays and invited their sisters (Job 1:4). But such gatherings can lead to tragedy, too. Abimelech, Gideon's son by his concubine, hired his mother's relatives to follow him to where his seventy brothers were gathered. They killed all but one brother and made Abimelech king (Judges 9:1–5).
