2 Samuel 14:30
ESV
Then he said to his servants, "See, Joab 's field is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire." So Absalom 's servants set the field on fire.
NIV
Then he said to his servants, "Look, Joab’s field is next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set it on fire." So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
NASB
Therefore he said to his servants, 'See, Joab’s plot is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.' So Absalom’s servants set the plot on fire.
CSB
Then Absalom said to his servants, "See, Joab has a field right next to mine, and he has barley there. Go and set fire to it!" So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
NLT
So Absalom said to his servants, 'Go and set fire to Joab’s barley field, the field next to mine.' So they set his field on fire, as Absalom had commanded.
KJV
Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.
NKJV
So he said to his servants, “See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
What does 2 Samuel 14:30 mean?
Absalom spent three years in exile after murdering his brother (2 Samuel 13:32). Joab, his cousin and King David's military commander, convinced David to let Absalom come home to Jerusalem. But David refuses to see Absalom or restore him to the royal court (2 Samuel 14:21–24). Absalom sent two messages to Joab, asking him to once again, advocate for him. Joab won't answer (2 Samuel 14:29). It's been two years, and Absalom is tired of waiting (2 Samuel 14:24).When David refused to discipline Amnon for raping Tamar, Absalom murdered Amnon (2 Samuel 13). When Joab refuses to answer Absalom's summons, Absalom sets Joab's barley fields on fire. David, once so aggressive in war, displays an unhelpfully passive attitude in domestic affairs. Absalom doesn't have that limitation. He applies David's wartime aggression to defending his honor and pushing others to do what he wants. He ordered his servants to kill his brother; now he orders them to burn Joab's fields.
Though the fields are next to each other, most likely both men have their homes in the city of Jerusalem. Exodus 22:6 says that if someone sets a fire in their own property, they are responsible for damages if the fire spreads to someone else's grain. By tradition, if the grain were still unharvested, the cost will assume the fullest yield the lot could be expected to produce.
The Septuagint translation of this verse adds, "So Joab's servants came to him with their clothes torn, and they said to him, 'The servants of Absalom have set your field on fire.'" Nothing in the context suggests this can't be true, but it most likely wasn't part of the original text.
