2 Samuel 1:10

1:10 So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. ¹  Then I took the crown which was on his head and the ²  bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.” ³ 

2 Samuel 6:21

6:21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ⁴  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel.

2 Samuel 7:29

7:29 Now be willing to bless your servant’s dynasty ⁵  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!” ⁶ 

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ⁷  Absalom had set up a monument ⁸  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 18:22

18:22 Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again spoke to Joab, “Whatever happens, let me go after the Cushite.” But Joab said, “Why is it that you want to go, my son? You have no good news that will bring you a reward.”

2 Samuel 21:4

21:4 The Gibeonites said to him, “We ⁹  have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, ¹⁰  nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.” David asked, ¹¹  “What then are you asking me to do for you?”

2 Samuel 23:10

23:10 he stood his ground ¹²  and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it ¹³  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.

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”

[1:10]  ² tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsÿ’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).

[1:10]  ³ sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.

[6:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”

[7:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “house” (again later in this verse). See the note on “dynastic house” in v. 27.

[7:29]  ⁶ tn Or “permanently”; cf. NLT “it is an eternal blessing.”

[18:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

[18:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “a pillar.”

[21:4]  ⁹ tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading לָנוּ (lanu, “to us”) rather than the MT לִי (li, “to me”). But for a contrary opinion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 53, 350.

[21:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[21:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:10]  ¹² tn Heb “arose.”

[23:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “his hand.”