18 Then the king said to the woman, "Don't keep from me the answer to what I am going to ask you." "Let my lord the king speak," the woman said.
18 Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.
18 Then the king answered the woman, "Do not hide from me anything I ask you." And the woman said, "Let my lord the king speak."
18 The king then said, "I'm going to ask you something. Answer me truthfully." "Certainly," she said. "Let my master, the king, speak."
18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, "Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you." And the woman said, "Please, let my lord the king speak."
18 "I must know one thing," the king replied, "and tell me the truth." "Yes, my lord the king," she responded.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:18
Commentary on 2 Samuel 14:1-20
(Read 2 Samuel 14:1-20)
We may notice here, how this widow pleads God's mercy, and his clemency toward poor guilty sinners. The state of sinners is a state of banishment from God. God pardons none to the dishonour of his law and justice, nor any who are impenitent; nor to the encouragement of crimes, or the hurt of others.