2 Samuel 11:25

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ¹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ²  Press the battle against the city and conquer ³  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ⁴ 

2 Samuel 20:6

20:6 Then David said to Abishai, “Now Sheba son of Bicri will cause greater disaster for us than Absalom did! Take your lord’s servants and pursue him. Otherwise he will secure ⁵  fortified cities for himself and get away from us.”

[11:25]  ¹ tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”

[11:25]  ² tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”

[11:25]  ³ tn Heb “overthrow.”

[11:25]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[20:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “find.” The perfect verbal form is unexpected with the preceding word “otherwise.” We should probably read instead the imperfect. Although it is possible to understand the perfect here as indicating that the feared result is thought of as already having taken place (cf. BDB 814 s.v. פֶּן 2), it is more likely that the perfect is simply the result of scribal error. In this context the imperfect would be more consistent with the following verb וְהִצִּיל (vÿhitsil, “and he will get away”).