18:3 But the people answered, Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but {b} now [thou art] worth ten thousand of us: therefore now [it is] better that thou succour us out of the city.
(b) Signifying that a good governor is so dear to his people that they would rather lose their lives than have anything happen to him.
18:1-8 How does David render good for evil! Absalom would have only David smitten; David would have only Absalom spared. This seems to be a resemblance of man's wickedness towards God, and God's mercy to man, of which it is hard to say which is most amazing. Now the Israelites see what it is to take counsel against the Lord and his anointed.
