2 Samuel 1:10

1:10 So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. ¹  Then I took the crown which was on his head and the ²  bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.” ³ 

2 Samuel 2:21

2:21 Abner said to him, “Turn aside to your right or to your left. Capture one of the soldiers ⁴  and take his equipment for yourself!” But Asahel was not willing to turn aside from following him.

2 Samuel 3:13

3:13 So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.” ⁵ 

2 Samuel 4:11

4:11 Surely when wicked men have killed an innocent man as he slept ⁶  in his own house, should I not now require his blood from your hands and remove ⁷  you from the earth?”

2 Samuel 5:8

5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies ⁸  by going through the water tunnel.” ⁹  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ¹⁰ 

2 Samuel 7:7

7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say ¹¹  to any of the leaders ¹²  whom I appointed to care for ¹³  my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’

2 Samuel 10:3

10:3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? ¹⁴  No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!” ¹⁵ 

2 Samuel 11:20-21

11:20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall? 11:21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone ¹⁶  down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

2 Samuel 13:4

13:4 He asked Amnon, ¹⁷  “Why are you, the king’s son, ¹⁸  so depressed every morning? Can’t you tell me?” So Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar the sister of my brother Absalom.”

2 Samuel 13:13

13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools ¹⁹  in Israel! Just ²⁰  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

2 Samuel 13:22

13:22 But Absalom said nothing to Amnon, either bad or good, yet Absalom hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar.

2 Samuel 13:28

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ²¹  and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” ²² 

2 Samuel 14:11

14:11 She replied, “In that case, ²³  let the king invoke the name of ²⁴  the Lord your God so that the avenger of blood may not kill! Then they will not destroy my son!” He replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of your son’s head ²⁵  will fall to the ground.”

2 Samuel 15:14

15:14 So David said to all his servants who were with him in Jerusalem, ²⁶  “Come on! ²⁷  Let’s escape! ²⁸  Otherwise no one will be delivered from Absalom! Go immediately, or else he will quickly overtake us and bring ²⁹  disaster on us and kill the city’s residents with the sword.” ³⁰ 

2 Samuel 17:8

17:8 Hushai went on to say, “You know your father and his men – they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. ³¹  Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army.

2 Samuel 17:12-13

17:12 We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive – not one of them! 17:13 If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!”

2 Samuel 17:17

17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying in En Rogel. A female servant would go and inform them, and they would then go and inform King David. It was not advisable for them to be seen going into the city.

2 Samuel 17:20

17:20 When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” The woman replied to them, “They crossed over the stream.” Absalom’s men ³²  searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. ³³ 

2 Samuel 17:23

17:23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his hometown. After setting his household in order, he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the grave ³⁴  of his father.

2 Samuel 18:11

18:11 Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, “What! You saw this? Why didn’t you strike him down right on the spot? ³⁵  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ³⁶  and a commemorative belt!” ³⁷ 

2 Samuel 18:29

18:29 The king replied, “How is the young man Absalom?” Ahimaaz replied, “I saw a great deal of confusion when Joab was sending the king’s servant and me, your servant, but I don’t know what it was all about.”

2 Samuel 19:22

19:22 But David said, “What do we have in common, ³⁸  you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t you realize that today I am king over Israel?”

2 Samuel 19:28

19:28 After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather ³⁹  who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table! ⁴⁰  What further claim do I have to ask ⁴¹  the king for anything?”

2 Samuel 20:1

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ⁴²  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ⁴³  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ⁴⁴  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ⁴⁵  O Israel!”

2 Samuel 20:3

20:3 Then David went to his palace ⁴⁶  in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. ⁴⁷  Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. ⁴⁸  They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

2 Samuel 21:2

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 ⁴⁹  them, but Saul tried to kill them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

2 Samuel 21:10

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, ⁵⁰  she did not allow the birds of the air to feed ⁵¹  on them by day, nor the wild animals ⁵²  by night.

2 Samuel 23:16

23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”

[1:10]  ² tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsÿ’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).

[1:10]  ³ sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “young men.” So also elsewhere.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn The words “when you come to see my face,” though found in the Hebrew text, are somewhat redundant given the similar expression in the earlier part of the verse. The words are absent from the Syriac Peshitta.

[4:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “on his bed.”

[4:11]  ⁷ tn See HALOT 146 s.v. II בער. Some derive the verb from a homonym meaning “to burn; to consume.”

[5:8]  ⁸ tc There is some confusion among the witnesses concerning this word. The Kethib is the Qal perfect 3cp שָׂנְאוּ (sanÿ’u, “they hated”), referring to the Jebusites’ attitude toward David. The Qere is the Qal passive participle construct plural שְׂנֻאֵי (sÿnu’e, “hated”), referring to David’s attitude toward the Jebusites. 4QSam^a has the Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular שָׂנְאָה (sanÿ’ah, “hated”), the subject of which would be “the soul of David.” The difference is minor and the translation adopted above works for either the Kethib or the Qere.

[5:8]  ⁹ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40.

[5:8]  sn If a water tunnel is in view here, it is probably the so-called Warren’s Shaft that extends up from Hezekiah’s tunnel. It would have provided a means for surprise attack against the occupants of the city of David. The LXX seems not to understand the reference here, translating “by the water shaft” as “with a small knife.”

[5:8]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[7:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Did I speak a word?” In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question.

[7:7]  ¹² tn Heb “tribes” (so KJV, NASB, NCV), but the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:6 has “judges.”

[7:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “whom I commanded to shepherd” (so NIV, NRSV).

[10:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”

[10:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”

[11:21]  ¹⁶ sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.

[13:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

[13:4]  ¹⁸ tn An more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”

[13:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

[13:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Now.”

[13:28]  ²¹ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ²² tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[14:11]  ²³ tn The words “in that case” are not in the Hebrew text, but may be inferred from the context. They are supplied in the translation for the sake of clarification.

[14:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “let the king remember.”

[14:11]  ²⁵ tn Heb “of your son.”

[15:14]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “Arise!”

[15:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “let’s flee.”

[15:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “thrust.”

[15:14]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

[17:8]  ³¹ tc The LXX (with the exception of the recensions of Origen and Lucian) repeats the description as follows: “Just as a female bear bereft of cubs in a field.”

[17:20]  ³² tn Heb “they”; the referents (Absalom’s men) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:20]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[17:23]  ³⁴ tc The Greek recensions of Origen and Lucian have here “house” for “grave.”

[18:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

[18:11]  ³⁶ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

[18:11]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

[19:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “what to me and to you.”

[19:28]  ³⁹ tn Heb “father.”

[19:28]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and you placed your servant among those who eat at your table.”

[19:28]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “to cry out to.”

[20:1]  ⁴² tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”

[20:1]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[20:3]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “house.”

[20:3]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he placed them in a guarded house.”

[20:3]  ⁴⁸ 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.”

[21:2]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “swore an oath to.”

[21:10]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “until water was poured on them from the sky.”

[21:10]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “rest.”

[21:10]  ⁵² tn Heb “the beasts of the field.”