2 Samuel 7:22

7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true! ¹ 

2 Samuel 12:24

12:24 So David comforted his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and had marital relations with her. ²  She gave birth to a son, and David ³  named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved the child ⁴ 

2 Samuel 16:22

16:22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, ⁵  and Absalom had sex with ⁶  his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

2 Samuel 18:14

18:14 Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the middle of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak tree. ⁷ 

[7:22]  ¹ tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (bÿkhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (kÿkhol).

[12:24]  ² tn Heb “and he lay with her.”

[12:24]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While some translations render the pronoun as third person plural (“they”), implying that both David and Bathsheba together named the child, it is likely that the name “Solomon,” which is related to the Hebrew word for “peace” (and may be derived from it) had special significance for David, who would have regarded the birth of a second child to Bathsheba as a confirming sign that God had forgiven his sin and was at peace with him.

[12:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “him,” referring to the child.

[16:22]  ⁵ sn That is, on top of the flat roof of the palace, so it would be visible to the public.

[16:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “went to”; NAB “he visited his father’s concubines”; NIV “lay with his father’s concubines”; TEV “went in and had intercourse with.”

[18:14]  ⁷ tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”