2 Samuel 10:2

10:2 David said, “I will express my loyalty ¹  to Hanun son of Nahash just as his father was loyal ²  to me.” So David sent his servants with a message expressing sympathy over his father’s death. ³  When David’s servants entered the land of the Ammonites,

2 Samuel 14:15

14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ⁴  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ⁵  asks.

2 Samuel 16:2

16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?” ⁶  Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread ⁷  and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.” ⁸ 

2 Samuel 17:16

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him, ⁹  “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert ¹⁰  tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, ¹¹  or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.” ¹² 

2 Samuel 18:11

18:11 Joab replied to the man who was telling him this, “What! You saw this? Why didn’t you strike him down right on the spot? ¹³  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ¹⁴  and a commemorative belt!” ¹⁵ 

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 20:21

20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled ¹⁶  against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute ¹⁷  his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”

2 Samuel 23:20

23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior ¹⁸  from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. ¹⁹  He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day.

[10:2]  ¹ tn Heb “do loyalty.”

[10:2]  ² tn Heb “did loyalty.”

[10:2]  ³ tn Heb “and David sent to console him by the hand of his servants concerning his father.”

[14:15]  ⁴ tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.

[14:15]  ⁵ tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.

[16:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “What are these to you?”

[16:2]  ⁷ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (vÿhallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (ulÿhallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.

[16:2]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”

[17:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

[17:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

[17:16]  ¹¹ tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

[17:16]  ¹² tn Heb “swallowed up.”

[18:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

[18:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

[18:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

[20:21]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “lifted his hand.”

[20:21]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Look!”

[23:20]  ¹⁸ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חַיִל (khayil, “valor”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חַי (khay, “life”).

[23:20]  ¹⁹ tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני).