David's apparent granting of permission for Amnon to attend the feast—though the text is ambiguous, the context suggests he relented—represents his final failure of parental judgment, as he unknowingly releases his guilty son into the presence of the brother whose justice he has already failed. The king's passive acquiescence continues the pattern established at the beginning of the chapter, where his lack of discernment and his tendency to accede to his sons' requests create the conditions for tragedy. The fact that David yields to Absalom's pressing invitation suggests either that he does not perceive the danger or that he has become resigned to the consequences of his own failures. The verse marks the moment where the stage is set for the tragic denouement, the convergence of victim, perpetrator, and avenger that the king's passivity has made possible.

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