2 Samuel 2:4

2:4 The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people ¹  of Judah.

David was told, ²  “The people ³  of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.”

2 Samuel 3:21

3:21 Abner said to David, “Let me leave so that I may go and gather all Israel to my lord the king so that they may make an agreement ⁴  with you. Then you will rule over all that you desire.” So David sent Abner away, and he left in peace.

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 ⁵  behind the funeral bier.

2 Samuel 5:2

5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. ⁶  The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”

2 Samuel 5:6

David Occupies Jerusalem

5:6 Then the king and his men advanced to Jerusalem ⁷  against the Jebusites who lived in the land. The Jebusites ⁸  said to David, “You cannot invade this place! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, saying, ‘David cannot invade this place!’”

2 Samuel 5:17

Conflict with the Philistines

5:17 When the Philistines heard that David had been designated ⁹  king over Israel, they all ¹⁰  went up to search for David. When David heard about it, he went down to the fortress.

2 Samuel 6:12

6:12 David was told, ¹¹  “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything he owns because of the ark of God.” So David went and joyfully brought the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David.

2 Samuel 6:16

6:16 As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him. ¹² 

2 Samuel 6:20

6:20 When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, ¹³  Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him. ¹⁴  She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished ¹⁵  himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool ¹⁶  might do!”

2 Samuel 10:19--11:2

10:19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer ¹⁷  saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. ¹⁸  The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ¹⁹  normally conduct wars, ²⁰  David sent out Joab with his officers ²¹  and the entire Israelite army. ²²  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ²³  11:2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of his palace. ²⁴  From the roof he saw a woman bathing. Now this woman was very attractive. ²⁵ 

2 Samuel 11:20

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?

2 Samuel 12:7

12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose ²⁶  you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

2 Samuel 12:30

12:30 He took the crown of their king ²⁷  from his head – it was gold, weighed about seventy-five pounds, ²⁸  and held a precious stone – and it was placed on David’s head. He also took from the city a great deal of plunder.

2 Samuel 13:4

13:4 He asked Amnon, ²⁹  “Why are you, the king’s son, ³⁰  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 ³¹  in Israel! Just ³²  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

2 Samuel 13:25

13:25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son. We shouldn’t all go. We shouldn’t burden you in that way.” Though Absalom ³³  pressed ³⁴  him, the king ³⁵  was not willing to go. Instead, David ³⁶  blessed him.

2 Samuel 14:11

14:11 She replied, “In that case, ³⁷  let the king invoke the name of ³⁸  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 ³⁹  will fall to the ground.”

2 Samuel 14:26

14:26 When he would shave his head – at the end of every year he used to shave his head, for it grew too long ⁴⁰  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ⁴¹  according to the king’s weight.

2 Samuel 15:18

15:18 All his servants were leaving with him, ⁴²  along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with ⁴³  the king.

2 Samuel 15:23

15:23 All the land was weeping loudly ⁴⁴  as all these people were leaving. ⁴⁵  As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving ⁴⁶  on the road that leads to the desert.

2 Samuel 15:34

15:34 But you will be able to counter the advice of Ahithophel if you go back to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king! Previously I was your father’s servant, and now I will be your servant.’

2 Samuel 16:5

Shimei Curses David and His Men

16:5 Then King David reached ⁴⁷  Bahurim. There a man from Saul’s extended family named Shimei son of Gera came out, yelling curses as he approached. ⁴⁸ 

2 Samuel 16:10

16:10 But the king said, “What do we have in common, ⁴⁹  you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David!’, who can say to him, ‘Why have you done this?’”

2 Samuel 17:16-17

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ⁵⁰  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ⁵¹  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ⁵²  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁵³ 

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 17:21

17:21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan ⁵⁴  climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream ⁵⁵  quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.” ⁵⁶ 

2 Samuel 18:2

18:2 David then sent out the army – a third under the leadership of Joab, a third under the leadership of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under the leadership of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I too will indeed march out with you.”

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ⁵⁷  Absalom had set up a monument ⁵⁸  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 18:20

18:20 But Joab said to him, “You will not be a bearer of good news today. You will bear good news some other day, but not today, ⁵⁹  for the king’s son is dead.”

2 Samuel 18:26-27

18:26 Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running by himself.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.” 18:27 The watchman said, “It appears to me that the first runner is Ahimaaz ⁶⁰  son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and he comes with good news.”

2 Samuel 18:33

18:33 (19:1) ⁶¹  The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, “My son, Absalom! My son, my son, ⁶²  Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” ⁶³ 

2 Samuel 19:5

19:5 So Joab visited ⁶⁴  the king at his home. He said, “Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.

2 Samuel 19:9

19:9 All the people throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies. He rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

2 Samuel 19:17

19:17 There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him, along with Ziba the servant ⁶⁵  of Saul’s household, and with him his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They hurriedly crossed ⁶⁶  the Jordan within sight of the king.

2 Samuel 19:20

19:20 For I, your servant, ⁶⁷  know that I sinned, and I have come today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”

2 Samuel 19:22

19:22 But David said, “What do we have in common, ⁶⁸  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 19:37

19:37 Let me ⁶⁹  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.”

2 Samuel 20:3

20:3 Then David went to his palace ⁷⁰  in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. ⁷¹  Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. ⁷²  They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.

2 Samuel 20:22

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 ⁷³  blew the trumpet, and his men ⁷⁴  dispersed from the city, each going to his own home. ⁷⁵  Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

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 ⁷⁶  them, but Saul tried to kill them because of his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.)

2 Samuel 21:7-8

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 ⁷⁷  whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

2 Samuel 21:14

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 ⁷⁸  that the king had commanded, God responded to their prayers ⁷⁹  for the land.

2 Samuel 24:2

24:2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”

2 Samuel 24:9

24:9 Joab reported the number of warriors ⁸⁰  to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

2 Samuel 24:21

24:21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.”

2 Samuel 24:24

24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you! I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt sacrifices that cost me nothing.”

So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. ⁸¹ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “house.”

[2:4]  ² tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.

[2:4]  ³ tn Heb “men.”

[3:21]  ⁴ tn After the cohortatives, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[3:31]  ⁵ tn Heb “was walking.”

[5:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “you were the one leading out and the one leading in Israel.”

[5:6]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:6]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text has “he” rather than “the Jebusites.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. In the Syriac Peshitta and some mss of the Targum the verb is plural rather than singular.

[5:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “anointed.”

[5:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the Philistines.”

[6:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and it was told to David, saying.”

[6:16]  ¹² tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”

[6:20]  ¹³ tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

[6:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “honored.”

[6:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

[10:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “the servants of Hadadezer.”

[10:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and they served them.”

[11:1]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “go out.”

[11:1]  ²¹ tn Heb “and his servants with him.”

[11:1]  ²² tn Heb “all Israel.”

[11:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “on the roof of the house of the king.” So also in vv. 8, 9.

[11:2]  ²⁵ tn The disjunctive clause highlights this observation and builds the tension of the story.

[12:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “anointed.”

[12:30]  ²⁷ tn Part of the Greek tradition wrongly understands Hebrew מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”) as a proper name (“Milcom”). Some English versions follow the Greek here, rendering the phrase “the crown of Milcom” (so NRSV; cf. also NAB, CEV). TEV takes this as a reference not to the Ammonite king but to “the idol of the Ammonite god Molech.”

[12:30]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and its weight [was] a talent of gold.” The weight of this ornamental crown was approximately 75 lbs (34 kg). See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 313.

[13:4]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

[13:4]  ³⁰ tn An more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”

[13:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

[13:13]  ³² tn Heb “Now.”

[13:25]  ³³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Absalom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:25]  ³⁴ tc Here and in v. 27 the translation follows 4QSam^a ויצפר (vayyitspar, “and he pressed”) rather than the MT וַיִּפְרָץ (vayyiprats, “and he broke through”). This emended reading seems also to underlie the translations of the LXX (καὶ ἐβιάσατο, kai ebiasato), the Syriac Peshitta (we’alseh), and Vulgate (cogeret eum).

[13:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:11]  ³⁷ 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]  ³⁸ tn Heb “let the king remember.”

[14:11]  ³⁹ tn Heb “of your son.”

[14:26]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”

[14:26]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).

[15:18]  ⁴² tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”

[15:18]  ⁴³ tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”

[15:23]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[15:23]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “crossing over.”

[15:23]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “crossing near the face of.”

[16:5]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “came to.” The form of the verb in the MT is odd. Some prefer to read וַיַּבֹא (vayyavo’), preterite with vav consecutive) rather than וּבָא (uva’), apparently perfect with vav), but this is probably an instance where the narrative offline vÿqatal construction introduces a new scene.

[16:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “And look, from there a man was coming out from the clan of the house of Saul and his name was Shimei son of Gera, continually going out and cursing.”

[16:10]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “What to me and to you?”

[17:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

[17:16]  ⁵¹ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

[17:16]  ⁵² tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

[17:16]  ⁵³ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[17:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:21]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “the water.”

[17:21]  ⁵⁶ 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.

[18:18]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

[18:18]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “a pillar.”

[18:20]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “but this day you will not bear good news.”

[18:27]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “I am seeing the running of the first one like the running of Ahimaaz.”

[18:33]  ⁶¹ sn This marks the beginning of ch. 19 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 18:33, the verse numbers through 19:43 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 18:33 ET = 19:1 HT, 19:1 ET = 19:2 HT, 19:2 ET = 19:3 HT, etc., through 19:43 ET = 19:44 HT. From 20:1 the versification in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible is again the same.

[18:33]  ⁶² tc One medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of the LXX, and the Vulgate lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

[18:33]  ⁶³ tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

[19:5]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “came to.”

[19:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “youth.”

[19:17]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “rushed into.”

[19:20]  ⁶⁷ tn The Hebrew text has simply “your servant.”

[19:22]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “what to me and to you.”

[19:37]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “your servant.”

[20:3]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[20:3]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “and he placed them in a guarded house.”

[20:3]  ⁷² 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.”

[20:22]  ⁷³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:22]  ⁷⁴ tn Heb “they”; the referent (Joab’s men) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:22]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “his tents.”

[21:2]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “swore an oath to.”

[21:8]  ⁷⁷ tc The MT reads “Michal” here, but two Hebrew manuscripts read “Merab,” along with some LXX manuscripts. Cf. 1 Sam 18:19.

[21:14]  ⁷⁸ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have here כְּכֹל (kÿkhol, “according to all”).

[21:14]  ⁷⁹ 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).

[24:9]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”

[24:24]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “fifty shekels of silver.” This would have been about 20 ounces (568 grams) of silver by weight.