2 Samuel 19:31--20:26
Konteks19:31 Now when Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim, he crossed the Jordan with the king so he could send him on his way from there. 1 19:32 But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich 2 man. 19:33 So the king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will take care of you while you are with me in Jerusalem.”
19:34 Barzillai replied to the king, “How many days do I have left to my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 19:35 I am presently eighty years old. Am I able to discern good and bad? Can I 3 taste what I eat and drink? Am I still able to hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should I 4 continue to be a burden to my lord the king? 19:36 I will cross the Jordan with the king and go a short distance. 5 Why should the king reward me in this way? 19:37 Let me 6 return so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems appropriate to you.”
19:38 The king replied, “Kimham will cross over with me, and I will do for him whatever I deem appropriate. And whatever you choose, I will do for you.”
19:39 So all the people crossed the Jordan, as did the king. After the king had kissed him and blessed him, Barzillai returned to his home. 7 19:40 When the king crossed over to Gilgal, Kimham 8 crossed over with him. Now all the soldiers 9 of Judah along with half of the soldiers of Israel had helped the king cross over. 10
19:41 Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak the king away and help the king and his household cross the Jordan – and not only him but all of David’s men as well?”
19:42 All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? 11 Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?” 19:43 The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want 12 to curse us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.
20:1 Now a wicked man 13 named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, 14 happened to be there. He blew the trumpet 15 and said,
“We have no share in David;
we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!
Every man go home, 16 O Israel!”
20:2 So all the men of Israel deserted 17 David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River 18 to Jerusalem. 19
20:3 Then David went to his palace 20 in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. 21 Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. 22 They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.
20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, 23 and you be present here with them too.” 20:5 So Amasa went out to call Judah together. But in doing so he took longer than the time that the king had allotted him.
20:6 Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure 24 fortified cities for himself and get away from us.” 20:7 So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.
20:8 When they were near the big rock that is in Gibeon, Amasa came to them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire and had a dagger in its sheath belted to his waist. When he advanced, it fell out. 25
20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss. 20:10 Amasa did not protect himself from the knife in Joab’s other hand, and Joab 26 stabbed him in the abdomen, causing Amasa’s 27 intestines to spill out on the ground. There was no need to stab him again; the first blow was fatal. 28 Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bicri.
20:11 One of Joab’s soldiers who stood over Amasa said, “Whoever is for 29 Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!” 20:12 Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa 30 stopped, the man 31 pulled him 32 away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him. 20:13 Once he had removed Amasa 33 from the path, everyone followed Joab to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.
20:14 Sheba 34 traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of 35 Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, 36 they too joined him. 20:15 So Joab’s men 37 came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab’s soldiers were trying to break through 38 the wall so that it would collapse, 20:16 a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”
20:17 When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.” 20:18 She said, “In the past they would always say, ‘Let them inquire in Abel,’ and that is how they settled things. 20:19 I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city 39 in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”
20:20 Joab answered, “Get serious! 40 I don’t want to swallow up or destroy anything! 20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled 41 against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute 42 his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”
20:22 Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice and they cut off Sheba’s head and threw it out to Joab. Joab 43 blew the trumpet, and his men 44 dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. 45 Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.
20:23 Now Joab was the general in command of all the army of Israel. Benaiah the son of Jehoida was over the Kerethites and the Perethites. 20:24 Adoniram 46 was supervisor of the work crews. 47 Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the secretary. 20:25 Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests. 20:26 Ira the Jairite was David’s personal priest. 48
Mazmur 7:1-17
KonteksA musical composition 50 by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning 51 a Benjaminite named Cush. 52
7:1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. 53
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!
7:2 Otherwise they will rip 54 me 55 to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me. 56
7:3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, 57
or am guilty of unjust actions, 58
7:4 or have wronged my ally, 59
or helped his lawless enemy, 60
7:5 may an enemy relentlessly chase 61 me 62 and catch me; 63
may he trample me to death 64
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. 65 (Selah)
7:6 Stand up angrily, 66 Lord!
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! 67
Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them! 68
7:7 The countries are assembled all around you; 69
take once more your rightful place over them! 70
7:8 The Lord judges the nations. 71
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, 72
because I am blameless, 73 O Exalted One! 74
7:9 May the evil deeds of the wicked 75 come to an end! 76
But make the innocent 77 secure, 78
O righteous God,
you who examine 79 inner thoughts and motives! 80
7:10 The Exalted God is my shield, 81
the one who delivers the morally upright. 82
7:11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day. 83
7:12 If a person 84 does not repent, God sharpens his sword 85
and prepares to shoot his bow. 86
7:13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; 87
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows. 88
7:14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies – 89
and then falls into the hole he has made. 91
7:16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans 92
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head. 93
7:17 I will thank the Lord for 94 his justice;
I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord! 95
2 Samuel 21:1-22
Konteks21:1 During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. 96 The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, 97 because he murdered the Gibeonites.”
21:2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke with them. (Now the Gibeonites were not descendants of Israel; they were a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had made a promise to 98 them, but Saul tried to kill them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.) 21:3 David said to the Gibeonites, “What can I do for you, and how can I make amends so that you will bless 99 the Lord’s inheritance?”
21:4 The Gibeonites said to him, “We 100 have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, 101 nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.” David asked, 102 “What then are you asking me to do for you?” 21:5 They replied to the king, “As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel – 21:6 let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute 103 them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord’s chosen one.” 104 The king replied, “I will turn them over.”
21:7 The king had mercy on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, in light of the Lord’s oath that had been taken between David and Jonathan son of Saul. 21:8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab 105 whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 21:9 He turned them over to the Gibeonites, and they executed them on a hill before the Lord. The seven of them 106 died 107 together; they were put to death during harvest time – during the first days of the beginning 108 of the barley harvest.
21:10 Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, 109 she did not allow the birds of the air to feed 110 on them by day, nor the wild animals 111 by night. 21:11 When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 21:12 he 112 went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan 113 from the leaders 114 of Jabesh Gilead. (They had secretly taken 115 them from the plaza at Beth Shan. It was there that Philistines 116 publicly exposed their corpses 117 after 118 they 119 had killed Saul at Gilboa.) 21:13 David 120 brought the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there; they also gathered up the bones of those who had been executed.
21:14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin at Zela in the grave of his father Kish. After they had done everything 121 that the king had commanded, God responded to their prayers 122 for the land.
21:15 Another battle was fought between the Philistines and Israel. So David went down with his soldiers 123 and fought the Philistines. David became exhausted. 21:16 Now Ishbi-Benob, one of the descendants of Rapha, 124 had a spear 125 that weighed three hundred bronze shekels, 126 and he was armed with a new weapon. 127 He had said that he would kill David. 21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid, striking the Philistine down and killing him. Then David’s men took an oath saying, “You will not go out to battle with us again! You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel!”
21:18 Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha. 21:19 Yet another battle occurred with the Philistines in Gob. On that occasion Elhanan the son of Jair 128 the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, 129 the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 21:20 Yet another battle occurred in Gath. On that occasion there was a large man 130 who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. 21:21 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, killed him. 21:22 These four were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed 131 by David and his soldiers. 132
1 Tawarikh 20:4-8
Konteks20:4 Later there was a battle 133 with the Philistines in Gezer. 134 At that time Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Sippai, 135 one of the descendants of the Rephaim, and the Philistines 136 were subdued.
20:5 There was another battle with the Philistines in which Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, 137 whose spear had a shaft as big as the crossbeam of a weaver’s loom. 138
20:6 In a battle in Gath 139 there was a large man who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot – twenty-four in all! He too was a descendant of Rapha. 20:7 When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimea, 140 David’s brother, killed him.
20:8 These were the descendants of Rapha who lived in Gath; they were killed 141 by the hand of David and his soldiers. 142
[19:31] 1 tc The MT reading אֶת־בַיַּרְדֵּן (’et-vayyarden, “in the Jordan”) is odd syntactically. The use of the preposition after the object marker אֶת (’et) is difficult to explain. Graphic confusion is likely in the MT; the translation assumes the reading מִיַּרְדֵּן (miyyarden, “from the Jordan”). Another possibility is to read the definite article on the front of “Jordan” (הַיַּרְדֵּן, hayyarden; “the Jordan”).
[19:35] 3 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:35] 4 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:36] 5 tn Heb “Like a little your servant will cross the Jordan with the king.”
[19:37] 6 tn Heb “your servant.”
[19:39] 7 tn Heb “to his place.”
[19:40] 8 tn The MT in this instance alone spells the name with final ן (nun, “Kimhan”) rather than as elsewhere with final ם (mem, “Kimham”). As in most other translations, the conventional spelling (with ם) has been used here to avoid confusion.
[19:40] 10 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[19:42] 11 tn Heb “from the king.”
[19:43] 12 tn The translation understands the verb in a desiderative sense, indicating the desire but not necessarily the completed action of the party in question. It is possible, however, that the verb should be given the more common sense of accomplished action, in which case it means here “Why have you cursed us?”
[20:1] 13 tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”
[20:1] 14 tn The expression used here יְמִינִי (yÿmini) is a short form of the more common “Benjamin.” It appears elsewhere in 1 Sam 9:4 and Esth 2:5. Cf. 1 Sam 9:1.
[20:1] 15 tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.
[20:1] 16 tc The MT reads לְאֹהָלָיו (lÿ’ohalav, “to his tents”). For a similar idiom, see 19:9. An ancient scribal tradition understands the reading to be לְאלֹהָיו (le’lohav, “to his gods”). The word is a tiqqun sopherim, and the scribes indicate that they changed the word from “gods” to “tents” so as to soften its theological implications. In a consonantal Hebrew text the change involved only the metathesis of two letters.
[20:2] 17 tn Heb “went up from after.”
[20:2] 18 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
[20:2] 19 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[20:3] 21 tn Heb “and he placed them in a guarded house.”
[20:3] 22 tn Heb “he did not come to them”; NAB “has no further relations with them”; NIV “did not lie with them”; TEV “did not have intercourse with them”; NLT “would no longer sleep with them.”
[20:4] 23 tn The present translation follows the Masoretic accentuation, with the major mark of disjunction (i.e., the atnach) placed at the word “days.” However, some scholars have suggested moving the atnach to “Judah” a couple of words earlier. This would yield the following sense: “Three days, and you be present here with them.” The difference in meaning is slight, and the MT is acceptable as it stands.
[20:6] 24 tn Heb “find.” The perfect verbal form is unexpected with the preceding word “otherwise.” We should probably read instead the imperfect. Although it is possible to understand the perfect here as indicating that the feared result is thought of as already having taken place (cf. BDB 814 s.v. פֶּן 2), it is more likely that the perfect is simply the result of scribal error. In this context the imperfect would be more consistent with the following verb וְהִצִּיל (vÿhitsil, “and he will get away”).
[20:8] 25 sn The significance of the statement it fell out here is unclear. If the dagger fell out of its sheath before Joab got to Amasa, how then did he kill him? Josephus, Ant. 7.11.7 (7.284), suggested that as Joab approached Amasa he deliberately caused the dagger to fall to the ground at an opportune moment as though by accident. When he bent over and picked it up, he then stabbed Amasa with it. Others have tried to make a case for thinking that two swords are referred to – the one that fell out and another that Joab kept concealed until the last moment. But nothing in the text clearly supports this view. Perhaps Josephus’ understanding is best, but it is by no means obvious in the text either.
[20:10] 26 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:10] 27 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:10] 28 tn Heb “and he did not repeat concerning him, and he died.”
[20:11] 29 tn Heb “takes delight in.”
[20:12] 30 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:12] 31 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who spoke up in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:12] 32 tn Heb “Amasa.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.
[20:13] 33 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:14] 34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sheba) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:14] 35 tc In keeping with the form of the name in v. 15, the translation deletes the “and” found in the MT.
[20:14] 36 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew
[20:15] 37 tn Heb “they.” The following context makes it clear that this refers to Joab and his army.
[20:15] 38 tc The LXX has here ἐνοοῦσαν (enoousan, “were devising”), which apparently presupposes the Hebrew word מַחֲשָׁבִים (makhashavim) rather than the MT מַשְׁחִיתִם (mashkhitim, “were destroying”). With a number of other scholars Driver thinks that the Greek variant may preserve the original reading, but this seems to be an unnecessary conclusion (but see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 346).
[20:19] 39 tn Heb “a city and a mother.” The expression is a hendiadys, meaning that this city was an important one in Israel and had smaller cities dependent on it.
[20:20] 40 tn Heb “Far be it, far be it from me.” The expression is clearly emphatic, as may be seen in part by the repetition. P. K. McCarter, however, understands it to be coarser than the translation adopted here. He renders it as “I’ll be damned if…” (II Samuel [AB], 426, 429), which (while it is not a literal translation) may not be too far removed from the way a soldier might have expressed himself.
[20:21] 41 tn Heb “lifted his hand.”
[20:22] 43 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:22] 44 tn Heb “they”; the referent (Joab’s men) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:22] 45 tn Heb “his tents.”
[20:24] 46 tn Heb “Adoram” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV, CEV), but see 1 Kgs 4:6; 5:14.
[20:24] 47 tn Heb “was over the forced labor.”
[20:26] 48 tn Heb “priest for David.” KJV (“a chief ruler about David”) and ASV (“chief minister unto David”) regarded this office as political.
[7:1] 49 sn Psalm 7. The psalmist asks the Lord to intervene and deliver him from his enemies. He protests his innocence and declares his confidence in God’s justice.
[7:1] 50 tn The precise meaning of the Hebrew term שִׁגָּיוֹן (shiggayon; translated here “musical composition”) is uncertain. Some derive the noun from the verbal root שָׁגָה (shagah, “swerve, reel”) and understand it as referring to a “wild, passionate song, with rapid changes of rhythm” (see BDB 993 s.v. שִׁגָּיוֹן). But this proposal is purely speculative. The only other appearance of the noun is in Hab 3:1, where it occurs in the plural.
[7:1] 51 tn Or “on account of.”
[7:1] 52 sn Apparently this individual named Cush was one of David’s enemies.
[7:1] 53 tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.
[7:2] 54 tn The verb is singular in the Hebrew text, even though “all who chase me” in v. 1 refers to a whole group of enemies. The singular is also used in vv. 4-5, but the psalmist returns to the plural in v. 6. The singular is probably collective, emphasizing the united front that the psalmist’s enemies present. This same alternation between a collective singular and a plural referring to enemies appears in Pss 9:3, 6; 13:4; 31:4, 8; 41:6, 10-11; 42:9-10; 55:3; 64:1-2; 74:3-4; 89:22-23; 106:10-11; 143:3, 6, 9.
[7:2] 55 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
[7:2] 56 tn Heb “tearing and there is no one rescuing.” The verbal form translated “tearing” is a singular active participle.
[7:3] 57 tn Heb “if I have done this.”
[7:3] 58 tn Heb “if there is injustice in my hands.” The “hands” figuratively suggest deeds or actions.
[7:4] 59 tn Heb “if I have repaid the one at peace with me evil.” The form שׁוֹלְמִי (sholÿmi, “the one at peace with me”) probably refers to a close friend or ally, i.e., one with whom the psalmist has made a formal agreement. See BDB 1023 s.v. שָׁלוֹם 4.a.
[7:4] 60 tn Heb “or rescued my enemy in vain.” The preterite with vav (ו) consecutive (the verb form is pseudo-cohortative; see IBHS 576-77 §34.5.3) carries on the hypothetical nuance of the perfect in the preceding line. Some regard the statement as a parenthetical assertion that the psalmist is kind to his enemies. Others define חָלַץ (khalats) as “despoil” (cf. NASB, NRSV “plundered”; NIV “robbed”), an otherwise unattested nuance for this verb. Still others emend the verb to לָחַץ (lakhats, “oppress”). Most construe the adverb רֵיקָם (reqam, “emptily, vainly”) with “my enemy,” i.e., the one who is my enemy in vain.” The present translation (1) assumes an emendation of צוֹרְרִי (tsorÿriy, “my enemy”) to צוֹרְרוֹ (tsorÿro, “his [i.e., the psalmist’s ally’s] enemy”) following J. Tigay, “Psalm 7:5 and Ancient Near Eastern Treaties,” JBL 89 (1970): 178-86, (2) understands the final mem (ם) on רֵיקָם as enclitic, and (3) takes רִיק (riq) as an adjective modifying “his enemy.” (For other examples of a suffixed noun followed by an attributive adjective without the article, see Pss 18:17 (“my strong enemy”), 99:3 (“your great and awesome name”) and 143:10 (“your good spirit”). The adjective רִיק occurs with the sense “lawless” in Judg 9:4; 11:3; 2 Chr 13:7. In this case the psalmist affirms that he has not wronged his ally, nor has he given aid to his ally’s enemies. Ancient Near Eastern treaties typically included such clauses, with one or both parties agreeing not to lend aid to the treaty partner’s enemies.
[7:5] 61 tn The vocalization of the verb form seems to be a mixture of Qal and Piel (see GKC 168 §63.n). The translation assumes the Piel, which would emphasize the repetitive nature of the action. The translation assumes the prefixed verbal form is a jussive. The psalmist is so certain that he is innocent of the sins mentioned in vv. 3-4, he pronounces an imprecation on himself for rhetorical effect.
[7:5] 62 tn Heb “my life.” The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.
[7:5] 63 tn Heb “and may he overtake.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. The object “me,” though unexpressed, is understood from the preceding statement.
[7:5] 64 tn Heb “and may he trample down to the earth my life.”
[7:5] 65 tn Heb “and my honor in the dust may he cause to dwell.” The prefixed verbal form is distinctly jussive. Some emend כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy, “my honor”) to כְבֵדִי (khÿvediy, “my liver” as the seat of life), but the term כְבוֹדִי (khÿvodiy) is to be retained since it probably refers to the psalmist’s dignity or honor.
[7:6] 66 tn Heb “in your anger.”
[7:6] 67 tn Heb “Lift yourself up in the angry outbursts of my enemies.” Many understand the preposition prefixed to עַבְרוֹת (’avrot, “angry outbursts”) as adversative, “against,” and the following genitive “enemies” as subjective. In this case one could translate, “rise up against my furious enemies” (cf. NIV, NRSV). The present translation, however, takes the preposition as indicating manner (cf. “in your anger” in the previous line) and understands the plural form of the noun as indicating an abstract quality (“fury”) or excessive degree (“raging fury”). Cf. Job 21:30.
[7:6] 68 tc Heb “Wake up to me [with the] judgment [which] you have commanded.” The LXX understands אֵלִי (’eliy, “my God”) instead of אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”; the LXX reading is followed by NEB, NIV, NRSV.) If the reading of the MT is retained, the preposition probably has the sense of “on account of, for the sake of.” The noun מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat, “judgment”) is probably an adverbial accusative, modifying the initial imperative, “wake up.” In this case צִוִּיתָ (tsivvita, “[which] you have commanded”) is an asyndetic relative clause. Some take the perfect as precative. In this case one could translate the final line, “Wake up for my sake! Decree judgment!” (cf. NIV). However, not all grammarians are convinced that the perfect is used as a precative in biblical Hebrew.
[7:7] 69 tn Heb “and the assembly of the peoples surrounds you.” Some understand the prefixed verbal form as a jussive, “may the assembly of the peoples surround you.”
[7:7] 70 tn Heb “over it (the feminine suffix refers back to the feminine noun “assembly” in the preceding line) on high return.” Some emend שׁוּבָה (shuvah, “return”) to שֵׁבָה (shevah, “sit [in judgment]”) because they find the implication of “return” problematic. But the psalmist does not mean to imply that God has abandoned his royal throne and needs to regain it. Rather he simply urges God, as sovereign king of the world, to once more occupy his royal seat of judgment and execute judgment, as the OT pictures God doing periodically.
[7:8] 71 sn The
[7:8] 72 tn Heb “judge me, O
[7:8] 73 tn Heb “according to my blamelessness.” The imperative verb translated “vindicate” governs the second line as well.
[7:8] 74 tn The Hebrew form עָלָי (’alay) has been traditionally understood as the preposition עַל (’al, “over”) with a first person suffix. But this is syntactically awkward and meaningless. The form is probably a divine title derived from the verbal root עָלָה (’alah, “ascend”). This relatively rare title appears elsewhere in the OT (see HALOT 824-25 s.v. I עַל, though this text is not listed) and in Ugaritic as an epithet for Baal (see G. R. Driver, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 98). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:44-45, and P. C. Craigie, Psalms 1-50 (WBC), 98.
[7:9] 75 tn In the psalms the Hebrew term רְשָׁעִים (rÿsha’im, “wicked”) describes people who are proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander (Ps 50:16-20), and cheat others (Ps 37:21). They oppose God and his people.
[7:9] 76 tn The prefixed verbal form is a jussive, expressing an imprecation here.
[7:9] 77 tn Or “the godly” (see Ps 5:12). The singular form is collective (see the plural “upright in heart” in v. 10), though it may reflect the personal focus of the psalmist in this context.
[7:9] 78 tn The prefixed verbal form expresses the psalmist’s prayer or wish.
[7:9] 79 tn For other uses of the verb in this sense, see Job 7:18; Pss 11:4; 26:2; 139:23.
[7:9] 80 tn Heb “and [the one who] tests hearts and kidneys, just God.” The translation inverts the word order to improve the English style. The heart and kidneys were viewed as the seat of one’s volition, conscience, and moral character.
[7:10] 81 tn Traditionally, “my shield is upon God” (cf. NASB). As in v. 8, עַל (’al) should be understood as a divine title, here compounded with “God” (cf. NIV, “God Most High”). See M. Dahood, Psalms (AB), 1:45-46. The shield metaphor pictures God as a protector against deadly attacks.
[7:10] 82 tn Heb “pure of heart.” The “heart” is here viewed as the seat of one’s moral character and motives. The “pure of heart” are God’s faithful followers who trust in and love the Lord and, as a result, experience his deliverance (see Pss 11:2; 32:11; 36:10; 64:10; 94:15; 97:11).
[7:11] 83 tn Heb “God (the divine name אֵל [’el] is used) is angry during all the day.” The verb זֹעֵם (zo’em) means “be indignant, be angry, curse.” Here God’s angry response to wrongdoing and injustice leads him to prepare to execute judgment as described in the following verses.
[7:12] 84 tn Heb “If he”; the referent (a person who is a sinner) has been specified in the translation for clarity. The subject of the first verb is understood as the sinner who fails to repent of his ways and becomes the target of God’s judgment (vv. 9, 14-16).
[7:12] 85 tn Heb “if he does not return, his sword he sharpens.” The referent (God) of the pronominal subject of the second verb (“sharpens”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:12] 86 tn Heb “his bow he treads and prepares it.” “Treading the bow” involved stepping on one end of it in order to string it and thus prepare it for battle.
[7:13] 87 tn Heb “and for him he prepares the weapons of death.”
[7:13] 88 tn Heb “his arrows into flaming [things] he makes.”
[7:14] 89 tn Heb “and he conceives harm and gives birth to a lie.”
[7:14] sn Pregnant with wickedness…gives birth to harmful lies. The psalmist metaphorically pictures the typical sinner as a pregnant woman, who is ready to give birth to wicked, destructive schemes and actions.
[7:15] 90 tn Heb “a pit he digs and he excavates it.” Apparently the imagery of hunting is employed; the wicked sinner digs this pit to entrap and destroy his intended victim. The redundancy in the Hebrew text has been simplified in the translation.
[7:15] 91 tn The verb forms in vv. 15-16 describe the typical behavior and destiny of those who attempt to destroy others. The image of the evildoer falling into the very trap he set for his intended victim emphasizes the appropriate nature of God’s judgment.
[7:16] 92 tn Heb “his harm [i.e., the harm he conceived for others, see v. 14] returns on his head.”
[7:16] 93 tn Heb “and on his forehead his violence [i.e., the violence he intended to do to others] comes down.”
[7:17] 94 tn Heb “according to.”
[7:17] 95 tn Heb “[to] the name of the
[21:1] 96 tn Heb “sought the face of the
[21:1] 97 tn Heb “and the house of bloodshed.”
[21:2] 98 tn Heb “swore an oath to.”
[21:3] 99 tn After the preceding imperfect verbal form, the subordinated imperative indicates purpose/result. S. R. Driver comments, “…the imper. is used instead of the more normal voluntative, for the purpose of expressing with somewhat greater force the intention of the previous verb” (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 350).
[21:4] 100 tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew
[21:4] 102 tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:6] 103 tn The exact nature of this execution is not altogether clear. The verb יָקַע (yaqa’) basically means “to dislocate” or “alienate.” In Gen 32:26 it is used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh. Figuratively it can refer to the removal of an individual from a group (e.g., Jer 6:8; Ezek 23:17) or to a type of punishment the specific identity of which is uncertain (e.g., here and Num 25:4); cf. NAB “dismember them”; NIV “to be killed and exposed.”
[21:6] 104 tc The LXX reads “at Gibeon on the mountain of the
[21:8] 105 tc The MT reads “Michal” here, but two Hebrew manuscripts read “Merab,” along with some LXX manuscripts. Cf. 1 Sam 18:19.
[21:9] 106 tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew
[21:9] 108 tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[21:10] 109 tn Heb “until water was poured on them from the sky.”
[21:10] 111 tn Heb “the beasts of the field.”
[21:12] 112 tn Heb “David.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation.
[21:12] 113 tn Heb “the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son.” See also v. 13.
[21:12] 116 tc Against the MT, this word is better read without the definite article. The MT reading is probably here the result of wrong word division, with the letter ה (he) belonging with the preceding word שָׁם (sham) as the he directive (i.e., שָׁמָּה, samah, “to there”).
[21:12] 117 tn Heb “had hung them.”
[21:12] 118 tn Heb “in the day.”
[21:12] 119 tn Heb “Philistines.”
[21:13] 120 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[21:14] 121 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[21:14] 122 tn Heb “was entreated.” The verb is an example of the so-called niphal tolerativum, with the sense that God allowed himself to be supplicated through prayer (cf. GKC 137 §51.c).
[21:15] 123 tn Heb “his servants.”
[21:16] 124 tn This name has the definite article and may be intended to refer to a group of people rather than a single individual with this name.
[21:16] 125 tn This is the only occurrence of this Hebrew word in the OT. Its precise meaning is therefore somewhat uncertain. As early as the LXX the word was understood to refer to a “spear,” and this seems to be the most likely possibility. Some scholars have proposed emending the text of 2 Sam 21:16 to כוֹבַעוֹ (khova’o; “his helmet”), but in spite of the fact that the word “helmet” appears in 1 Sam 17:5, there is not much evidence for reading that word here.
[21:16] 126 tn Either the word “shekels” should be supplied here, or the Hebrew word מִשְׁקַל (mishqal, “weight”) right before “bronze” is a corrupted form of the word for shekel. If the latter is the case the problem probably resulted from another occurrence of the word מִשְׁקַל just four words earlier in the verse.
[21:16] sn Three hundred bronze shekels would have weighed about 7.5 pounds (3.4 kg).
[21:16] 127 tn The Hebrew text reads simply “a new [thing],” prompting one to ask “A new what?” Several possibilities have been proposed to resolve the problem: perhaps a word has dropped out of the Hebrew text here; or perhaps the word “new” is the result of misreading a different, less common, word; or perhaps a word (e.g., “sword,” so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, CEV, NLT) is simply to be inferred. The translation generally follows the latter possibility, while at the same time being deliberately nonspecific (“weapon”).
[21:19] 128 tn Heb “Jaare-Oregim,” but the second word, which means “weavers,” is probably accidentally included. It appears at the end of the verse. The term is omitted in the parallel account in 1 Chr 20:5, which has simply “Jair.”
[21:19] 129 sn The Hebrew text as it stands reads, “Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite.” Who killed Goliath the Gittite? According to 1 Sam 17:4-58 it was David who killed Goliath, but according to the MT of 2 Sam 21:19 it was Elhanan who killed him. Many scholars believe that the two passages are hopelessly at variance with one another. Others have proposed various solutions to the difficulty, such as identifying David with Elhanan or positing the existence of two Goliaths. But in all likelihood the problem is the result of difficulties in the textual transmission of the Samuel passage; in fact, from a text-critical point of view the books of Samuel are the most poorly preserved of all the books of the Hebrew Bible. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 20:5 reads, “Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath.” Both versions are textually corrupt. The Chronicles text has misread “Bethlehemite” (בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי, bet hallakhmi) as the accusative sign followed by a proper name אֶת לַחְמִי (’et lakhmi). (See the note at 1 Chr 20:5.) The Samuel text misread the word for “brother” (אַח, ’akh) as the accusative sign (אֵת, ’et), thereby giving the impression that Elhanan, not David, killed Goliath. Thus in all probability the original text read, “Elhanan son of Jair the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath.”
[21:20] 130 tn Heb “a man of stature.”
[21:22] 131 tn Heb “they fell.”
[21:22] 132 tn Heb “his servants.”
[20:4] 133 tn Heb “battle stood.”
[20:4] 134 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 identifies this site as “Gob.”
[20:4] 135 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:18 has the variant spelling “Saph.”
[20:4] 136 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Philistines) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[20:5] 137 tc The Hebrew text reads, “Elchanan son of Jair killed Lachmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” But it is likely that the accusative marker in front of לַחְמִי (lakhmiy, “Lachmi”) is a corruption of בֵּית (bet), and that אֶת־לַחְמִי (’et-lakhmiy) should be emended to בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי (bet hallakhmiy, “the Bethlehemite”). See 2 Sam 21:19.
[20:5] 138 tc See tc note on the parallel passage in 2 Sam 21:19.
[20:6] 139 tn Heb “and there was another battle, in Gath.”
[20:7] 140 tn The parallel text in 2 Sam 21:21 has the variant spelling “Shimeah.”
