2 Samuel 8:17

8:17 Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar ¹  were priests; Seraiah was scribe;

2 Samuel 20:25

20:25 Sheva was the scribe, and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests.

2 Samuel 22:37

22:37 You widen my path; ² 

my feet ³  do not slip.

2 Samuel 22:47

22:47 The Lord is alive! ⁴ 

My protector ⁵  is praiseworthy! ⁶ 

The God who delivers me ⁷  is exalted as king! ⁸ 

[8:17]  ¹ tc Here Ahimelech is called “the son of Abiathar,” but NCV, CEV, and REB reverse this to conform with 1 Sam 22:20. Most recent English versions (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) retain the order found in the MT.

[22:37]  ² tn Heb “step.” “Step” probably refers metonymically to the path upon which the psalmist walks. Another option is to translate, “you widen my stride.” This would suggest that God gives him the capacity to run quickly.

[22:37]  ³ tn Heb “lower legs.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun, which occurs only here, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 112. A cognate Akkadian noun means “lower leg.”

[22:47]  ⁴ tn Elsewhere the construction חַי־יְהוָה (khay-yÿhvah) as used exclusively as an oath formula, but this is not the case here, for no oath follows. Here the statement is an affirmation of the Lord’s active presence and intervention. In contrast to pagan deities, he demonstrates that he is the living God by rescuing and empowering the psalmist.

[22:47]  ⁵ tn Heb “my rocky cliff,” which is a metaphor for protection.

[22:47]  ⁶ tn Or “blessed [i.e., praised] be.”

[22:47]  ⁷ tn Heb “the God of the rock of my deliverance.” The term צוּר (tsur, “rock”) is probably accidentally repeated from the previous line. The parallel version in Ps 18:46 has simply “the God of my deliverance.”

[22:47]  ⁸ tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification. In the Psalms the verb רוּם (rum, “be exalted”) when used of God, refers to his exalted position as king (Pss 99:2; 113:4; 138:6) and/or his self-revelation as king through his mighty deeds of deliverance (Pss 21:13; 46:10; 57:5, 11).