2 Samuel 1:16

1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

2 Samuel 2:1

David is Anointed King

2:1 Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied, ¹  “To Hebron.”

2 Samuel 2:22

2:22 So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ²  How then could I show ³  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”

2 Samuel 2:26

2:26 Then Abner called out to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Don’t you realize that this will turn bitter in the end? When will you tell the people to turn aside from pursuing their brothers?”

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.” ⁴ 

2 Samuel 3:33

3:33 The king chanted the following lament for Abner:

“Should Abner have died like a fool?

2 Samuel 5:2

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

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 ⁶  by going through the water tunnel.” ⁷  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ⁸ 

2 Samuel 5:19

5:19 So David asked the Lord, “Should I march up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord said to David, “March up, for I will indeed ⁹  hand the Philistines over to you.”

2 Samuel 5:23-24

5:23 So David asked the Lord what he should do. ¹⁰  This time ¹¹  the Lord ¹²  said to him, “Don’t march straight up. Instead, circle around behind them and come against them opposite the trees. ¹³  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 ¹⁴  of the Philistines.”

2 Samuel 8:2

8:2 He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. ¹⁵  The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. ¹⁶ 

2 Samuel 8:6

8:6 David placed garrisons in the territory of the Arameans of Damascus; the Arameans became David’s subjects and brought tribute. The Lord protected ¹⁷  David wherever he campaigned. ¹⁸ 

2 Samuel 8:14

8:14 He placed garrisons throughout Edom, ¹⁹  and all the Edomites became David’s subjects. The Lord protected David wherever he campaigned.

2 Samuel 9:10

9:10 You will cultivate ²⁰  the land for him – you and your sons and your servants. You will bring its produce ²¹  and it will be ²²  food for your master’s grandson to eat. ²³  But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, will be a regular guest at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

2 Samuel 10:2

10:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty ²⁴  to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal ²⁵  to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. ²⁶  When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites,

2 Samuel 10:11-12

10:11 Joab ²⁷  said, “If the Arameans start to overpower me, ²⁸  you come to my rescue. If the Ammonites start to overpower you, ²⁹  I will come to your rescue. 10:12 Be strong! Let’s fight bravely for the sake of our people and the cities of our God! The Lord will do what he decides is best!” ³⁰ 

2 Samuel 11:4

11:4 David sent some messengers to get her. ³¹  She came to him and he had sexual relations with her. ³²  (Now at that time she was in the process of purifying herself from her menstrual uncleanness.) ³³  Then she returned to her home.

2 Samuel 11:15

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.”

2 Samuel 11:21

11:21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone ³⁴  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 11:25

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ³⁵  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ³⁶  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³⁷  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ³⁸ 

2 Samuel 12:5-6

12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ³⁹  12:6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!” ⁴⁰ 

2 Samuel 12:23

12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’”

2 Samuel 13:5

13:5 Jonadab replied to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. ⁴¹  When your father comes in to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in so she can fix some food for me. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I can watch. Then I will eat from her hand.’”

2 Samuel 13:13

13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools ⁴²  in Israel! Just ⁴³  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

2 Samuel 13:26

13:26 Then Absalom said, “If you will not go, ⁴⁴  then let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king replied to him, “Why should he go with you?”

2 Samuel 13:28

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ⁴⁵  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!” ⁴⁶ 

2 Samuel 14:2-3

14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning ⁴⁷  and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. ⁴⁸  14:3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. ⁴⁹ 

2 Samuel 14:19

14:19 The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?” ⁵⁰  The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth.

2 Samuel 14:24

14:24 But the king said, “Let him go over ⁵¹  to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over ⁵²  to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.

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 ⁵³  and he would shave it – he used to weigh the hair of his head at three pounds ⁵⁴  according to the king’s weight.

2 Samuel 15:20

15:20 It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men ⁵⁵  with you. May genuine loyal love ⁵⁶  protect ⁵⁷  you!”

2 Samuel 15:35-36

15:35 Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you. ⁵⁸  Everything you hear in the king’s palace ⁵⁹  you must tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. 15:36 Furthermore, their two sons are there with them, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan. You must send them to me with any information you hear.” ⁶⁰ 

2 Samuel 16:20

16:20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?”

2 Samuel 17:11

17:11 My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba – in number like the sand by the sea! – be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle.

2 Samuel 17:16-17

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ⁶¹  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ⁶²  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ⁶³  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ⁶⁴ 

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 18:3

18:3 But the soldiers replied, ⁶⁵  “You should not do this! ⁶⁶  For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won’t be too concerned about us. ⁶⁷  Even if half of us should die, they won’t be too concerned about us. But you ⁶⁸  are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.”

2 Samuel 19:2

19:2 So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, “The king is grieved over his son.”

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 19:11

19:11 Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace, ⁶⁹  when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention. ⁷⁰ 

2 Samuel 19:13

19:13 Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my flesh and blood? ⁷¹  God will punish me severely, ⁷²  if from this time on you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”

2 Samuel 19:21

19:21 Abishai son of Zeruiah replied, “For this should not Shimei be put to death? After all, he cursed the Lord’s anointed!”

2 Samuel 19:29

19:29 Then the king replied to him, “Why should you continue speaking like this? You and Ziba will inherit the field together.”

2 Samuel 19:34

19:34 Barzillai replied to the king, “How many days do I have left to my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?

2 Samuel 19:43

19:43 The men of Israel replied to the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we have a greater claim on David than you do! Why do you want ⁷³  to curse us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?” But the comments of the men of Judah were more severe than those of the men of Israel.

2 Samuel 20:4

20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, ⁷⁴  and you be present here with them too.”

2 Samuel 23:6-7

23:6 But evil people are like thorns –

all of them are tossed away,

for they cannot be held in the hand.

23:7 The one who touches them

must use an iron instrument

or the wooden shaft of a spear.

They are completely burned up right where they lie!” ⁷⁵ 

2 Samuel 24:4

24:4 But the king’s edict stood, despite the objections of ⁷⁶  Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the Israelite army.

2 Samuel 24:12-13

24:12 “Go, tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.’”

24:13 Gad went to David and told him, “Shall seven ⁷⁷  years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide ⁷⁸  what I should tell the one who sent me.”

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:22]  ² tn Heb “Why should I strike you to the ground?”

[2:22]  ³ tn Heb “lift.”

[3:13]  ⁴ 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.

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

[5:8]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[5:19]  ⁹ tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the following verb.

[5:23]  ¹⁰ tn The words “what to do” are not in the Hebrew text.

[5:23]  ¹¹ tn The words “this time” are not in the Hebrew text.

[5:23]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:23]  ¹³ tn Some translate as “balsam trees” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV, NJB, NLT); cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV “mulberry trees”; NAB “mastic trees”; NEB, REB “aspens.” The exact identification of the type of tree or plant is uncertain.

[5:24]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “camp” (so NAB).

[8:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”

[8:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”

[8:6]  ¹⁷ tn Or “delivered.”

[8:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “wherever he went.”

[8:14]  ¹⁹ tc The MT is repetitious here: “He placed in Edom garrisons; in all Edom he placed garrisons.” The Vulgate lacks “in all Edom”; most of the Greek tradition (with the exception of the Lucianic recension and the recension of Origen) and the Syriac Peshitta lack “he placed garrisons.” The MT reading appears here to be the result of a conflation of variant readings.

[9:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “work.”

[9:10]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew text implies, but does not actually contain, the words “its produce” here.

[9:10]  ²² tc The words “it will be,” though present in the MT, are absent from the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate.

[9:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and he will eat it.”

[10:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do loyalty.”

[10:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “did loyalty.”

[10:2]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”

[10:11]  ²⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “if Aram is stronger than me.”

[10:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “if the sons of Ammon are stronger than you.”

[10:12]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and the Lord will do what is good in his eyes.”

[11:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “and David sent messengers and he took her.”

[11:4]  ³² tn Heb “he lay with her” (so NASB, NRSV); TEV “he made love to her”; NIV, CEV, NLT “he slept with her.”

[11:4]  ³³ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause further heightens the tension by letting the reader know that Bathsheba, having just completed her menstrual cycle, is ripe for conception. See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 286. Since she just had her period, it will also be obvious to those close to the scene that Uriah, who has been away fighting, cannot be the father of the child.

[11:21]  ³⁴ 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.

[11:25]  ³⁵ tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”

[11:25]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”

[11:25]  ³⁷ tn Heb “overthrow.”

[11:25]  ³⁸ tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[12:5]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the man doing this [is] a son of death.” See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean “he is as good as dead” or “he deserves to die,” as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.

[12:6]  ⁴⁰ tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek translation has here “sevenfold” rather than “fourfold,” a reading that S. R. Driver thought probably to be the original reading (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 291). However, Exod 22:1 [21:37 HT] specifies fourfold repayment for a stolen sheep, which is consistent with 2 Sam 12:6. Some mss of the Targum and the Syriac Peshitta exaggerate the idea to “fortyfold.”

[12:6]  tn Heb “the lamb he must repay fourfold because he did this thing and because he did not have compassion.”

[13:5]  ⁴¹ tn This verb is used in the Hitpael stem only in this chapter of the Hebrew Bible. With the exception of v. 2 it describes not a real sickness but one pretended in order to entrap Tamar. The Hitpael sometimes, as here, describes the subject making oneself appear to be of a certain character. On this use of the stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.

[13:13]  ⁴² tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

[13:13]  ⁴³ tn Heb “Now.”

[13:26]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “and not.”

[13:28]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[14:2]  ⁴⁷ tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.

[14:2]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “these many days.”

[14:3]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).

[14:19]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?”

[14:24]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “turn aside.”

[14:24]  ⁵² tn Heb “turned aside.”

[14:26]  ⁵³ tn Heb “for it was heavy upon him.”

[14:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “two hundred shekels.” The modern equivalent would be about three pounds (1.4 kg).

[15:20]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “brothers,” but see v. 22.

[15:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “loyal love and truth.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[15:20]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “be with.”

[15:35]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you?” The rhetorical question draws attention to the fact that Hushai will not be alone.

[15:35]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “from the house of the king.”

[15:36]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “and you must send by their hand to me every word which you hear.” Both of the second person verb forms are plural with Zadok, Abiathar, and Hushai being the understood subjects.

[17:16]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

[17:16]  ⁶² tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

[17:16]  ⁶³ tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

[17:16]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the people said.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “march out.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

[18:3]  ⁶⁸ tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (’atta, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (’atta, “now”).

[19:11]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “his house.”

[19:11]  ⁷⁰ tc The Hebrew text adds “to his house” (= palace), but the phrase, which also appears earlier in the verse, is probably accidentally repeated here.

[19:13]  ⁷¹ tn Heb “my bone and my flesh.”

[19:13]  ⁷² tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”

[19:43]  ⁷³ tn The translation understands the verb in a desiderative sense, indicating the desire but not necessarily the completed action of the party in question. It is possible, however, that the verb should be given the more common sense of accomplished action, in which case it means here “Why have you cursed us?”

[20:4]  ⁷⁴ 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.

[23:7]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and with fire they are completely burned up in [the place where they] remain.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize that they are completely consumed by the fire.

[24:4]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and the word of the king was stronger than.”

[24:13]  ⁷⁷ tc The LXX has here “three” rather than “seven,” and is followed by NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, TEV, NLT. See 1 Chr 21:12.

[24:13]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “now know and see.”