2 Samuel 17:21-22

17:21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan ¹  climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream ²  quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.” ³  17:22 So David and all the people who were with him got up and crossed the Jordan River. ⁴  By dawn there was not one person left who had not crossed the Jordan.

2 Samuel 15:14

15:14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, ⁵  “Come on! ⁶  Let’s escape! ⁷  Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring ⁸  disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.” ⁹ 

2 Samuel 15:28

15:28 Look, I will be waiting at the fords of the desert until word from you ¹⁰  reaches me.”

2 Samuel 15:1

Absalom Leads an Insurrection against David

15:1 Some time later Absalom managed to acquire ¹¹  a chariot and horses, as well as fifty men to serve as his royal guard. ¹² 

1 Samuel 20:38

20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master.

Mazmur 55:8

55:8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe

from the strong wind ¹³  and the gale.”

Amsal 6:4-5

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes ¹⁴ 

or slumber to your eyelids.

6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, ¹⁵ 

and like a bird from the trap ¹⁶  of the fowler.

Matius 24:16-18

24:16 then those in Judea must flee ¹⁷  to the mountains. 24:17 The one on the roof ¹⁸  must not come down ¹⁹  to take anything out of his house, 24:18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.

[17:21]  ¹ tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:21]  ² tn Heb “the water.”

[17:21]  ³ tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.

[17:22]  ⁴ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text here or in v. 24, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:14]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “Arise!”

[15:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “let’s flee.”

[15:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “thrust.”

[15:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

[15:28]  ¹⁰ tn The pronoun is plural, referring to Zadok and Abiathar.

[15:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “acquired for himself.”

[15:1]  ¹² tn Heb “to run ahead of him.”

[55:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “[the] wind [that] sweeps away.” The verb סָעָה (sa’ah, “sweep away”) occurs only here in the OT (see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena [SBLDS], 120).

[6:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “do not give sleep to your eyes.” The point is to go to the neighbor and seek release from the agreement immediately (cf. NLT “Don’t rest until you do”).

[6:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “from the hand.” Most translations supply “of the hunter.” The word “hand” can signify power, control; so the meaning is that of a gazelle freeing itself from a snare or a trap that a hunter set.

[6:5]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “hand” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). Some mss and versions have it as “trap,” which may very well represent an interpretation too.

[24:16]  ¹⁷ sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[24:17]  ¹⁸ sn On the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

[24:17]  ¹⁹ sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There will be no time to come down from the roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.