The Meaning of 2 Samuel 16:5 Explained

2 Samuel 16:5

KJV: And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed still as he came.

YLT: And king David hath come in unto Bahurim, and lo, thence a man is coming out, of the family of the house of Saul, and his name is Shimei, son of Gera, he cometh out, coming out and reviling;

Darby: And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out from thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he came forth, and cursed,

ASV: And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out thence a man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he came out, and cursed still as he came.

What is the context of 2 Samuel 16:5?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And when king  David  came  to Bahurim,  behold, thence came out  a man  of the family  of the house  of Saul,  whose name  [was] Shimei,  the son  of Gera:  he came forth,  and cursed  still as he came. 

What does 2 Samuel 16:5 Mean?

Context Summary

2 Samuel 16:1-12 - A Day That Revealed Character
There may have been some truth in Ziba's statement, but we should balance it with 2 Samuel 19:24. Shimei vented the spleen of the house of Saul. He probably referred to the recent execution of the sons of Rizpah, and perhaps suggested that David had been guilty of all the disaster that had befallen Saul's house from the day of Gilboa. When men curse us, whether we deserve it or not, let us look past them to the permissive will of God. "Let him curse; for the Lord hath bidden him!"
When, through the treachery of Judas, the bitter cup came to the lips of our Lord, he said, "It is the cup that my Father hath given me to drink." Pain and sorrow, treachery and hard speeches, may be devised against us by the malignity of an Ahithophel, a Shimei, or a Judas; but by the time these have passed, through the permissive will of God, we may receive them as the strokes of His chastening rod, that we may partake of His holiness. We are not the sport of chance or human caprice. God deals with us as with sons. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Samuel 16

1  Ziba, by presents and false suggestions, obtains his master's inheritance
5  At Bahurim, Shimei curses David
9  David with patience abstains, and restrains others, from revenge
15  Hushai insinuates himself into Absalom's counsel
20  Ahithophel's counsel

What do the individual words in 2 Samuel 16:5 mean?

And when came King David to Bahurim and there was from there a man coming from the family of the house of Saul and whose name [was] Shimei son of Gera He came out as he came and cursing continuously
וּבָ֛א הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ דָּוִ֖ד עַד־ בַּֽחוּרִ֑ים וְהִנֵּ֣ה מִשָּׁם֩ אִ֨ישׁ יוֹצֵ֜א מִמִּשְׁפַּ֣חַת בֵּית־ שָׁא֗וּל וּשְׁמוֹ֙ שִׁמְעִ֣י בֶן־ גֵּרָ֔א יֹצֵ֥א יָצ֖וֹא וּמְקַלֵּֽל

וּבָ֛א  And  when  came 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ  King 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
דָּוִ֖ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
בַּֽחוּרִ֑ים  Bahurim 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּחוּרִים 
Sense: a town in Benjamin between Jerusalem and Jericho beyond the Mount of Olives on the way to Jericho.
וְהִנֵּ֣ה  and  there  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interjection
Root: הִנֵּה  
Sense: behold, lo, see, if.
מִשָּׁם֩  from  there 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
אִ֨ישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
יוֹצֵ֜א  coming 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
מִמִּשְׁפַּ֣חַת  from  the  family 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: מִשְׁפָּחָה  
Sense: clan, family.
בֵּית־  of  the  house 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
שָׁא֗וּל  of  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
וּשְׁמוֹ֙  and  whose  name  [was] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שֵׁם  
Sense: name.
שִׁמְעִ֣י  Shimei 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שִׁמְעִי  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Gera of the house of Saul in the time of David.
בֶן־  son 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
גֵּרָ֔א  of  Gera 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֵּרָא  
Sense: a son of Benjamin.
יֹצֵ֥א  He  came  out 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
יָצ֖וֹא  as  he  came 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: יׄוצֵאת 
Sense: to go out, come out, exit, go forth.
וּמְקַלֵּֽל  and  cursing  continuously 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָלַל  
Sense: to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light.