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 ¹  by going through the water tunnel.” ²  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ³ 

2 Samuel 7:19

7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. ⁴  Is this your usual way of dealing with men, ⁵  O Lord God?

2 Samuel 7:29

7:29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty ⁶  so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant’s dynasty be blessed on into the future!” ⁷ 

2 Samuel 14:11

14:11 She replied, “In that case, ⁸  let the king invoke the name of ⁹  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 ¹⁰  will fall to the ground.”

2 Samuel 19:6

19:6 You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don’t matter to you. I realize now ¹¹  that if ¹²  Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, ¹³  it would be all right with you.

2 Samuel 19:28

19:28 After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather ¹⁴  who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table! ¹⁵  What further claim do I have to ask ¹⁶  the king for anything?”

2 Samuel 19:37

19:37 Let me ¹⁷  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.”

[5:8]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[7:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O Lord God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”

[7:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “and this [is] the law of man”; KJV “is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”; NAB “this too you have shown to man”; NRSV “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” This part of the verse is very enigmatic; no completely satisfying solution has yet been suggested. The present translation tries to make sense of the MT by understanding the phrase as a question that underscores the uniqueness of God’s dealings with David as described here. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:17 reads differently (see the note there).

[7:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “house” (again later in this verse). See the note on “dynastic house” in v. 27.

[7:29]  ⁷ tn Or “permanently”; cf. NLT “it is an eternal blessing.”

[14:11]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “let the king remember.”

[14:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “of your son.”

[19:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “today.”

[19:6]  ¹² tc The translation follows the Qere, 4QSam^a, and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading לוּ (lu, “if”) rather than MT לֹא (lo’, “not”).

[19:6]  ¹³ tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack “today.”

[19:28]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “father.”

[19:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and you placed your servant among those who eat at your table.”

[19:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to cry out to.”

[19:37]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “your servant.”