2 Samuel 1:23

1:23 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved ¹  during their lives,

and not even in their deaths were they separated.

They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

2 Samuel 2:10

2:10 Ish-bosheth son of Saul was forty years old when he began to rule over Israel. He ruled two years. However, the people ²  of Judah followed David.

2 Samuel 2:32--3:1

2:32 They took Asahel’s body and buried him in his father’s tomb at Bethlehem. ³  Joab and his men then traveled all that night and reached Hebron by dawn. 3:1 However, the war was prolonged between the house of Saul and the house of David. David was becoming steadily stronger, while the house of Saul was becoming increasingly weaker.

2 Samuel 3:12

3:12 Then Abner sent messengers ⁴  to David saying, “To whom does the land belong? Make an agreement ⁵  with me, and I will do whatever I can ⁶  to cause all Israel to turn to you.”

2 Samuel 3:31

3:31 David instructed Joab and all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes! Put on sackcloth! Lament before Abner!” Now King David followed ⁷  behind the funeral bier.

2 Samuel 3:35

3:35 Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely ⁸  if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

2 Samuel 4:4-5

4:4 Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. ⁹  Mephibosheth was his name.

4:5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite – Recab and Baanah – went at the hottest part of the day to the home of Ish-bosheth, as he was enjoying his midday rest.

2 Samuel 5:4

5:4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign and he reigned for forty years.

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 ¹⁰  by going through the water tunnel.” ¹¹  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ¹² 

2 Samuel 5:24

5:24 When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, act decisively. For at that moment the Lord is going before you to strike down the army ¹³  of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 6:9

6:9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How will the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”

2 Samuel 6:14

6:14 Now David, wearing a linen ephod, was dancing with all his strength before the Lord. ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 6:20

6:20 When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, ¹⁵  Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him. ¹⁶  She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished ¹⁷  himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool ¹⁸  might do!”

2 Samuel 7:9

7:9 I was with you wherever you went, and I defeated ¹⁹  all your enemies before you. Now I will make you as famous as the great men of the earth. ²⁰ 

2 Samuel 7:23

7:23 Who is like your people, Israel, a unique nation ²¹  on the earth? Their God ²²  went ²³  to claim ²⁴  a nation for himself and to make a name for himself! You did great and awesome acts for your land, ²⁵  before your people whom you delivered for yourself from the Egyptian empire and its gods. ²⁶ 

2 Samuel 8:1

David Subjugates Nearby Nations

8:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah ²⁷  from the Philistines. ²⁸ 

2 Samuel 8:3

8:3 David defeated King Hadadezer son of Rehob of Zobah when he came to reestablish ²⁹  his authority ³⁰  over the Euphrates ³¹  River.

2 Samuel 10:1

David and the Ammonites

10:1 Later the king of the Ammonites died and his son Hanun succeeded him. ³² 

2 Samuel 11:1-2

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ³³  normally conduct wars, ³⁴  David sent out Joab with his officers ³⁵  and the entire Israelite army. ³⁶  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ³⁷  11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. ³⁸  From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive. ³⁹ 

2 Samuel 11:5

11:5 The woman conceived and then sent word to David saying, “I’m pregnant.”

2 Samuel 11:13

11:13 Then David summoned him. He ate and drank with him, and got him drunk. But in the evening he went out to sleep on his bed with the servants of his lord; he did not go down to his own house.

2 Samuel 11:15-16

11:15 In the letter he wrote: “Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”

11:16 So as Joab kept watch on the city, he stationed Uriah at the place where he knew the best enemy soldiers ⁴⁰  were.

2 Samuel 11:24

11:24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall and some of the king’s soldiers ⁴¹  died. Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.”

2 Samuel 11:27

11:27 When the time of mourning passed, David had her brought to his palace. ⁴²  She became his wife and she bore him a son. But what David had done upset the Lord. ⁴³ 

2 Samuel 12:4

12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ⁴⁴  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ⁴⁵  the traveler who had come to visit him. ⁴⁶  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁴⁷  it for the man who had come to visit him.”

2 Samuel 12:21

12:21 His servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? While ⁴⁸  the child was still alive, you fasted and wept. Once the child was dead you got up and ate food!”

2 Samuel 12:26

David’s Forces Defeat the Ammonites

12:26 ⁴⁹ So Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and captured the royal city.

2 Samuel 13:9

13:9 But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat. Instead Amnon said, “Get everyone out of here!” ⁵⁰  So everyone left. ⁵¹ 

2 Samuel 15:8

15:8 For I made this vow ⁵²  when I was living in Geshur in Aram: ‘If the Lord really does allow me to return to Jerusalem, ⁵³  I will serve the Lord.’”

2 Samuel 15:12

15:12 While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser, ⁵⁴  to come from his city, Giloh. ⁵⁵  The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.

2 Samuel 15:17

15:17 The king and all the people set out on foot, pausing ⁵⁶  at a spot ⁵⁷  some distance away.

2 Samuel 15:32

15:32 When David reached the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite met him with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

2 Samuel 15:37

15:37 So David’s friend Hushai arrived in the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

2 Samuel 16:7

16:7 As he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Leave! Leave! You man of bloodshed, you wicked man! ⁵⁸ 

2 Samuel 16:23

16:23 In those days Ahithophel’s advice was considered as valuable as a prophetic revelation. ⁵⁹  Both David and Absalom highly regarded the advice of Ahithophel. ⁶⁰ 

2 Samuel 17:2

17:2 When I catch up with ⁶¹  him he will be exhausted and worn out. ⁶²  I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king

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 17:22

17:22 So David and all the people who were with him got up and crossed the Jordan River. ⁶³  By dawn there was not one person left who had not crossed the Jordan.

2 Samuel 18:9

18:9 Then Absalom happened to come across David’s men. Now as Absalom was riding on his ⁶⁴  mule, it ⁶⁵  went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, ⁶⁶  while the mule he had been riding kept going.

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. ⁶⁷ 

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ⁶⁸  Absalom had set up a monument ⁶⁹  and dedicated it to himself in the King’s Valley, reasoning “I have no son who will carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom’s Memorial.

2 Samuel 19:19

19:19 He said to the king, “Don’t think badly of me, my lord, and don’t recall the sin of your servant on the day when you, my lord the king, left ⁷⁰  Jerusalem! ⁷¹  Please don’t call it to mind!

2 Samuel 19:25

19:25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”

2 Samuel 20:1

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ⁷²  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ⁷³  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ⁷⁴  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ⁷⁵  O Israel!”

2 Samuel 20:4-5

20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, ⁷⁶  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.

2 Samuel 20:8

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. ⁷⁷ 

2 Samuel 21:17-18

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.

2 Samuel 22:1

David Sings to the Lord

22:1 ⁷⁸ David sang ⁷⁹  to the Lord the words of this song when ⁸⁰  the Lord rescued him from the power ⁸¹  of all his enemies, including Saul. ⁸² 

2 Samuel 22:16

22:16 The depths ⁸³  of the sea were exposed;

the inner regions ⁸⁴  of the world were uncovered

by the Lord’s battle cry, ⁸⁵ 

by the powerful breath from his nose. ⁸⁶ 

2 Samuel 22:19

22:19 They confronted ⁸⁷  me in my day of calamity,

but the Lord helped me. ⁸⁸ 

2 Samuel 23:4

23:4 is like the light of morning when the sun comes up,

a morning in which there are no clouds.

He is like the brightness after rain

that produces grass from the earth.

2 Samuel 23:9-11

23:9 Next in command ⁸⁹  was Eleazar son of Dodo, ⁹⁰  the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, ⁹¹  23:10 he stood his ground ⁹²  and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it ⁹³  seemed stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory on that day. When the army returned to him, the only thing left to do was to plunder the corpses.

23:11 Next in command ⁹⁴  was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines assembled at Lehi, ⁹⁵  where there happened to be an area of a field that was full of lentils, the army retreated before the Philistines.

2 Samuel 23:13-14

23:13 At the time of ⁹⁶  the harvest three ⁹⁷  of the thirty leaders went down to ⁹⁸  David at the cave of Adullam. A band of Philistines was camped in the valley of Rephaim. 23:14 David was in the stronghold at the time, while a Philistine garrison was in Bethlehem. ⁹⁹ 

2 Samuel 24:8

24:8 They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem. ¹⁰⁰ 

2 Samuel 24:11

24:11 When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken ¹⁰¹  to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:

2 Samuel 24:15-16

24:15 So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. 24:16 When the angel ¹⁰²  extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. ¹⁰³  He told the angel who was killing the people, “That’s enough! Stop now!” ¹⁰⁴  (Now the Lord’s angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.)

[1:23]  ¹ tn Heb “beloved and dear.”

[2:10]  ² tn Heb “house.”

[2:32]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[3:12]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds here, “on his behalf.”

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “cut a covenant.” So also in vv. 13, 21.

[3:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “and behold, my hand is with you.”

[3:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “was walking.”

[3:35]  ⁸ tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”

[4:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “and was lame.”

[5:8]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[5:24]  ¹³ tn Heb “camp” (so NAB).

[6:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and David was dancing with all his strength before the Lord, and David was girded with a linen ephod.”

[6:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

[6:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “honored.”

[6:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

[7:9]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “cut off.”

[7:9]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and I will make for you a great name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth.”

[7:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “a nation, one.”

[7:23]  ²² tn Heb “whose God” or “because God.” In the Hebrew text this clause is subordinated to what precedes. The clauses are separated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ²³ tn The verb is plural in Hebrew, agreeing grammatically with the divine name, which is a plural of degree.

[7:23]  ²⁴ tn Heb “redeem.”

[7:23]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and to do for you [plural form] the great [thing] and awesome [things] for your land.”

[7:23]  ²⁶ tn Heb “from Egypt, nations and their gods.” The LXX has “nations and tents,” which reflects a mistaken metathesis of letters in אֶלֹהָיו (e’lohav, “its gods”) and אֹהָלָיו (’ohalav, “its tents”).

[8:1]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).

[8:1]  ²⁸ tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”

[8:3]  ²⁹ tc The LXX has ἐπιστῆσαι (episthsai, “cause to stand”). See the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.

[8:3]  ³⁰ tn Heb “hand.”

[8:3]  ³¹ tn The MT does not have the name “Euphrates” in the text. It is supplied in the margin (Qere) as one of ten places where the Masoretes believed that something was “to be read although it was not written” in the text as they had received it. The ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Vulgate) include the word. See also the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:3.

[10:1]  ³² tn Heb “reigned in his place.”

[11:1]  ³³ tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאכִים, hammal’khim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammela’kim).

[11:1]  ³⁴ tn Heb “go out.”

[11:1]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and his servants with him.”

[11:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[11:1]  ³⁷ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.

[11:1]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.

[11:2]  ³⁹ tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.

[11:16]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “the valiant men.” This refers in context to the strongest or most valiant defenders of the city Joab and the Israelite army were besieging, so the present translation uses “the best enemy soldiers” for clarity.

[11:24]  ⁴¹ tc The translation follows the Qere (“your servants”) rather than the Kethib (“your servant”).

[11:27]  ⁴² tn Heb “David sent and gathered her to his house.”

[11:27]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and the thing which David had done was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” Note the verbal connection with v. 25. Though David did not regard the matter as evil, the Lord certainly did.

[12:4]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.

[12:4]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”

[12:4]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

[12:4]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and prepared.”

[12:21]  ⁴⁸ tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba’avur, “for the sake of”) we should probably read בְּעוֹד (bÿ’od, “while”). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.

[12:26]  ⁴⁹ sn Here the narrative resumes the battle story that began in 11:1 (see 11:25). The author has interrupted that story to give the related account of David’s sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. He now returns to the earlier story and brings it to a conclusion.

[13:9]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “from upon me.”

[13:9]  ⁵¹ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss have “and they removed everyone” (Hiphil preterite with vav consecutive 3cp, rather than Qal preterite with vav consecutive 3cp).

[15:8]  ⁵² tn Heb “for your servant vowed a vow.” The formal court style of referring to one’s self in third person (“your servant”) has been translated here as first person for clarity.

[15:8]  ⁵³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:12]  ⁵⁴ tn Traditionally, “counselor,” but this term is more often associated with psychological counseling today, so “adviser” was used in the translation instead.

[15:12]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the adviser of David, from his city, from Giloh, while he was sacrificing.” It is not entirely clear who (Absalom or Ahithophel) was offering the sacrifices.

[15:17]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and they stood.”

[15:17]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “house.”

[16:7]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “man of worthlessness.”

[16:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “And the advice of Ahithophel which he advised in those days was as when one inquires of the word of God.”

[16:23]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “So was all the advice of Ahithophel, also to David, also to Absalom.”

[17:2]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”

[17:2]  ⁶² tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”

[17:22]  ⁶³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text here or in v. 24, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[18:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “the.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the donkey.”

[18:9]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “between the sky and the ground.”

[18:14]  ⁶⁷ 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.”

[18:18]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

[18:18]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “a pillar.”

[19:19]  ⁷⁰ tn Though this verb in the MT is 3rd person masculine singular, it should probably be read as 2nd person masculine singular. It is one of fifteen places where the Masoretes placed a dot over each of the letters of the word in question in order to call attention to their suspicion of the word. Their concern in this case apparently had to do with the fact that this verb and the two preceding verbs alternate from third person to second and back again to third. Words marked in this way in Hebrew manuscripts or printed editions are said to have puncta extrordinaria, or “extraordinary points.”

[19:19]  ⁷¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[20:1]  ⁷² tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”

[20:1]  ⁷³ 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]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ⁷⁵ 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.

[20:4]  ⁷⁶ 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.

[20:8]  ⁷⁷ 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.

[22:1]  ⁷⁸ sn In this long song of thanks, David affirms that God is his faithful protector. He recalls in highly poetic fashion how God intervened in awesome power and delivered him from death. His experience demonstrates that God vindicates those who are blameless and remain loyal to him. True to his promises, God gives the king victory on the battlefield and enables him to subdue nations. A parallel version of the song appears in Ps 18.

[22:1]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “spoke.”

[22:1]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “in the day,” or “at the time.”

[22:1]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[22:1]  ⁸² tn Heb “and from the hand of Saul.”

[22:16]  ⁸³ tn Or “channels.”

[22:16]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “foundations.”

[22:16]  ⁸⁵ tn The noun is derived from the verb גָעַר (nag’ar) which is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Pss 68:30; 106:9; and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 9:5; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[22:16]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “blast of the breath” (literally, “breath of breath”) employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971): 17-81.

[22:19]  ⁸⁷ tn The same verb is translated “trapped” in v. 6. In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not imperfect. Cf. NAB, NCV, TEV, NLT “attacked.”

[22:19]  ⁸⁸ tn Heb “became my support.”

[23:9]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “after him.”

[23:9]  ⁹⁰ tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading דֹּדוֹ (dodo) rather than the Kethib of the MT דֹּדַי (dodai; cf. ASV, NIV, NLT). But see 1 Chr 27:4.

[23:9]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “went up.”

[23:10]  ⁹² tn Heb “arose.”

[23:10]  ⁹³ tn Heb “his hand.”

[23:11]  ⁹⁴ tn Heb “after him.”

[23:11]  ⁹⁵ tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. The MT reads לַחַיָּה (lachayyah), which implies a rare use of the word חַיָּה (chayyah). The word normally refers to an animal, but if the MT is accepted it would here have the sense of a troop or community of people. BDB 312 s.v. II. חַיָּה, for example, understands the similar reference in v. 13 to be to “a group of allied families, making a raid together.” But this works better in v. 13 than it does in v. 11, where the context seems to suggest a particular staging location for a military operation. (See 1 Chr 11:15.) It therefore seems best to understand the word in v. 11 as a place name with ה (he) directive. In that case the Masoretes mistook the word for the common term for an animal and then tried to make sense of it in this context.

[23:13]  ⁹⁶ tn The meaning of Hebrew אֶל־קָצִיר (’el qatsir) seems here to be “at the time of harvest,” although this is an unusual use of the phrase. As S. R. Driver points out, this preposition does not normally have the temporal sense of “in” or “during” (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 366).

[23:13]  ⁹⁷ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁלֹשָׁה (shÿloshah, “three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT שְׁלֹשִׁים (shÿloshim, “thirty”). “Thirty” is due to dittography of the following word and makes no sense in the context.

[23:13]  ⁹⁸ tn Heb “went down…and approached.”

[23:14]  ⁹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[24:8]  ¹⁰⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:11]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “and the word of the Lord came.”

[24:16]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “messenger.”

[24:16]  ¹⁰³ tn Heb “concerning the calamity.”

[24:16]  ¹⁰⁴ tn Heb “Now, drop your hand.”