שמואל ב, פרק י״ט, פסוק ו׳

A harsh confrontation unfolds in the aftermath of battle, exposing a deep rift between a grieving king and his most loyal followers. Rather than celebrating a victory and the survival of his family, the king is entirely consumed by sorrow over the loss of his rebellious son. This intense grief directly insults the very people who stood by him during his darkest hour.

Joab sharply accuses the king of shaming and disgracing the loyalists who just rescued him and his household [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The grief is seen as a profound act of ingratitude. Absalom was not merely a wayward child; he posed a severe and active threat. He intended to murder his father and brothers and abuse the royal wives to cement his power, actions he had already begun to carry out. The soldiers saved the royal family from constant mortal danger, making the rebel's death completely justified as an act of self-defense. By weeping for the enemy, the king dismisses the life-saving efforts of his own men [מלבי״ם].

Joab specifically points out three distinct groups deeply hurt by the king's mourning [אברבנאל]. First, the loyal fighters who risked their lives in battle deserve to be greeted with warmth and gratitude, rather than finding their leader hiding his face in sorrow. Second, the king's devoted sons and daughters are left deeply confused. Watching their father cry in regret over a son who tried to destroy them naturally leads them to question the value of their own loyalty, seeing that a traitor receives such overwhelming love and compassion. Finally, the king's wives and concubines suffer a painful betrayal. The rebellious son had publicly defiled the concubines, an act of severe humiliation that naturally demands justice. When the king mourns the attacker instead of acknowledging God's vengeance upon him, he projects complete indifference to the women's trauma, acting as if their profound suffering does not matter to him at all.