2 Samuel 1:23

1:23 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved ¹  during their lives,

and not even in their deaths were they separated.

They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

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 ²  hand the Philistines over to you.”

2 Samuel 12:13

12:13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the Lord has forgiven ³  your sin. You are not going to die.

2 Samuel 12:22

12:22 He replied, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ⁴  ‘Perhaps ⁵  the Lord will show pity and the child will live.

2 Samuel 16:4

16:4 The king said to Ziba, “Everything that was Mephibosheth’s now belongs to you.” Ziba replied, “I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”

2 Samuel 19:19

19:19 He said to the king, “Don’t think badly of me, my lord, and don’t recall the sin of your servant on the day when you, my lord the king, left ⁶  Jerusalem! ⁷  Please don’t call it to mind!

2 Samuel 21:6

21:6 let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute ⁸  them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord’s chosen one.” ⁹  The king replied, “I will turn them over.”

2 Samuel 22:3

22:3 My God ¹⁰  is my rocky summit where I take shelter, ¹¹ 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹²  my stronghold,

my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! ¹³ 

2 Samuel 22:49

22:49 He delivers me from my enemies; ¹⁴ 

you snatch me away ¹⁵  from those who attack me; ¹⁶ 

you rescue me from violent men.

2 Samuel 23:5

23:5 My dynasty is approved by God, ¹⁷ 

for he has made a perpetual covenant with me,

arranged in all its particulars and secured.

He always delivers me,

and brings all I desire to fruition. ¹⁸ 

[1:23]  ¹ tn Heb “beloved and dear.”

[5:19]  ² tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the following verb.

[12:13]  ³ tn Heb “removed.”

[12:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “said.”

[12:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “Who knows?”

[19:19]  ⁶ tn Though this verb in the MT is 3rd person masculine singular, it should probably be read as 2nd person masculine singular. It is one of fifteen places where the Masoretes placed a dot over each of the letters of the word in question in order to call attention to their suspicion of the word. Their concern in this case apparently had to do with the fact that this verb and the two preceding verbs alternate from third person to second and back again to third. Words marked in this way in Hebrew manuscripts or printed editions are said to have puncta extrordinaria, or “extraordinary points.”

[19:19]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:6]  ⁸ tn The exact nature of this execution is not altogether clear. The verb יָקַע (yaqa’) basically means “to dislocate” or “alienate.” In Gen 32:26 it is used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh. Figuratively it can refer to the removal of an individual from a group (e.g., Jer 6:8; Ezek 23:17) or to a type of punishment the specific identity of which is uncertain (e.g., here and Num 25:4); cf. NAB “dismember them”; NIV “to be killed and exposed.”

[21:6]  ⁹ tc The LXX reads “at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord” (cf. 21:9). The present translation follows the MT, although a number of recent English translations follow the LXX reading here (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[22:3]  ¹⁰ tc The translation (along with many English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) follows the LXX in reading אֱלֹהִי (’elohi, “my God”) rather than MT’s אֱלֹהֵי (’elohe, “the God of”). See Ps 18:2.

[22:3]  ¹¹ tn Or “in whom.”

[22:3]  ¹² tn Heb “the horn of my salvation,” or “my saving horn.”

[22:3]  sn Though some see “horn” as referring to a horn-shaped peak of a hill, or to the “horns” of an altar where one could find refuge, it is more likely that the horn of an ox underlies the metaphor (see Deut 33:17; 1 Kgs 22:11; Ps 92:10). The horn of the wild ox is frequently a metaphor for military strength; the idiom “exalt the horn” signifies military victory (see 1 Sam 2:10; Pss 89:17, 24; 92:10; Lam 2:17). In the ancient Near East powerful warrior-kings would sometimes compare themselves to a goring bull that uses its horns to kill its enemies. For examples, see P. Miller, “El the Warrior,” HTR 60 (1967): 422-25, and R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 135-36. 2 Sam 22:3 uses the metaphor of the horn in a slightly different manner. Here the Lord himself is compared to a horn. He is to the psalmist what the horn is to the ox, a source of defense and victory.

[22:3]  ¹³ tn The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

[22:49]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and [the one who] brings me out from my enemies.”

[22:49]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “you lift me up.” In light of the preceding and following references to deliverance, the verb רוּם (rum) probably here refers to being rescued from danger (see Ps 9:13). However, it could mean “exalt; elevate” here, indicating that the Lord has given him victory over his enemies and forced them to acknowledge the psalmist’s superiority.

[22:49]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from those who rise against me.”

[23:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “For not thus [is] my house with God?”

[23:5]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “for all my deliverance and every desire, surely does he not make [it] grow?”