And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them. So they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widowhood.
When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten women who were his concubines - the ones he had left behind to take care of the house. He placed them under guard and provided for their needs, but he never had relations with them again. They remained confined like this until they died, living as if they were widows.
David isolated his ten concubines for the rest of their lives after they were violated by his son Absalom during the rebellion.
📚 Historical Context
This follows Absalom's rebellion where he publicly took David's concubines on the palace roof as a political act to show he was claiming his father's throne (2 Samuel 16:22). In ancient Near Eastern culture, taking a king's wives or concubines was a symbolic claim to royal power. David's response reflects both the cultural shame associated with this violation and his attempt to handle a delicate political situation.
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