2 Samuel 16:21

Plain English Version

He answered, “10 of your father’s wives stayed behind to look after the house. You have to sleep with them, as if you are married to them. If you do that, you will make your father ashamed, and he will hate you properly. Then everybody will know that you are the big boss in his house now. Everybody will hear that you were really brave, and that you did it in the open. Then they will follow you.”

Cross References

Genesis 34:30

Then Jacob talked strongly to his sons Simeon and Levi. He said, “You made big trouble for me. You know about the other tribes that live in this land, the Canaan tribe and the Periz tribe. Well, now those tribes will hate us, because you finished up Shekem’s mob. And maybe those tribes will join together and attack us. My mob is small, so we will not be able to fight those big tribes, and then they will finish us up, me and my family.”

Genesis 35:22

While they were living there, Jacob’s son Reuben went to the woman called Bilhah. Bilhah worked for Jacob’s family, and she was like another wife for Jacob. And Reuben slept with Bilhah, like a man sleeps with his wife. Then somebody told Jacob that Reuben did that bad thing. These are the names of Jacob’s 12 sons.

Genesis 6:4

Those men that were called the Sons of God, they slept with the pretty women, like men usually sleep with their wives, and then those women had kids called Nefalim. Those Nefalim kids grew up to be big, strong fighting men. They were the great fighters in the stories from a long time ago.

2 Samuel 12:11

And now God has another story for you. One day, he will tell a man from your own family to give you big trouble. God will take away your wives and give them to that man. And that man will sleep with them as if they are his wives. Everybody will see him do that.

2 Samuel 15:16

So David went away with his mob. He told 10 of his wives to stay behind to look after his house. (We have not yet translated 15:17-31.)

2 Samuel 16:20

So Absalom said to that wise man, Ahithofel, “All right, tell us, what do we do first?”

2 Samuel 17:7

Hushai lied and answered, “That old man usually talks straight. But not today. That plan he just told you, it’s no good.

1 Corinthians 5:1

Now listen. I have to talk straight to you about this. Some people have told me there is something bad going on in your church family. One of you has his father’s wife as his girlfriend, and he is sleeping with her as if they are married. Look, even people that don’t know God don’t do that.