Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageAnd Absalom would say, 'Oh, that I were made judge in the land! Then everyone with a lawsuit or a cause could come to me, and I would give them justice.'
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GThen Avshalom would say, 'If only someone would make me judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or case could come to me, and I would see that he gets justice.'
KJV
King James VersionAbsalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
BSB
Berean Standard BibleAnd he would add, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land, then everyone with a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would give him justice.”
Footnotes
*Mi yasimeniy shofet ba'aretz* — 'Who will appoint me judge in the land?' — is a wish formula that also functions as a political slogan. *Shofet* carries the weight of the pre-monarchic deliverer-judges (Samson, Deborah, Gideon), not merely a magistrate. Absalom is not just promising better bureaucracy; he is invoking the older ideal of a leader who personally champions the people's cause. The irony is that Israel already has a king-shepherd — and Absalom is stealing his flock.
