2 Samuel 14:6
ESV
And your servant had two sons, and they quarreled with one another in the field. There was no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
NIV
I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him.
NASB
And your servant had two sons, but the two of them fought in the field, and there was no one to save them from each other, so one struck the other and killed him.
CSB
"Your servant had two sons. They were fighting in the field with no one to separate them, and one struck the other and killed him.
NLT
My two sons had a fight out in the field. And since no one was there to stop it, one of them was killed.
KJV
And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
NKJV
Now your maidservant had two sons; and the two fought with each other in the field, and there was no one to part them, but the one struck the other and killed him.
What does 2 Samuel 14:6 mean?
A woman has come to David to ask for leniency for her son. Her sad story echoes Cain and Abel. Two brothers have an argument in a field, and one kills the other (Genesis 4:8). But she adds a significant detail: "There was no one to separate them." There was no responsible authority there to stop the violence before it started. This is a subtle criticism of David.Her story isn't about her two sons and it's not about Cain and Abel. It's a fabrication. She's talking about David's sons Absalom and Amnon (2 Samuel 14:12–17). Amnon raped Tamar, Absalom's full sister. David was angry but did nothing. After two years, Absalom murdered Amnon and fled (2 Samuel 13).
David should have been more active. He should have been the one to "separate" Amnon and Absalom by giving Tamar justice. He should have either forced Amnon to marry Tamar, as she wanted (Deuteronomy 22:28–29; 2 Samuel 13:13, 16), or punished Amnon for the rape and his cruel rejection of Tamar. He should have worked with Absalom to determine what was just and helped Absalom with his righteous but extreme anger.
Instead, David is more like the clansmen in the story. They want to execute the remaining brother; in David's situation, he's content to let Absalom remain in exile (2 Samuel 14:7).
We don't know if David catches the nuance in the woman's story, but he does sense the influence of his general, Joab. It's Joab who wants David to pardon Absalom. David agrees to let his son come home (2 Samuel 14:1, 18–21). He doesn't seem to catch that his situation is closer to that of Adam and Eve than it is to this woman. God banished Cain for an incredibly good reason (Genesis 4).
