2 Samuel 12:18

12:18 On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us ¹  when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!” ² 

2 Samuel 18:12

18:12 The man replied to Joab, “Even if ³  I were receiving ⁴  a thousand pieces of silver, ⁵  I would not strike ⁶  the king’s son! In our very presence ⁷  the king gave this order to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ ⁸ 

2 Samuel 19:22

19:22 But David said, “What do we have in common, ⁹  you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t you realize that today I am king over Israel?”

[12:18]  ¹ tn Heb “to our voice.”

[12:18]  ² tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!

[18:12]  ³ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְלוּ (vÿlu, “and if”) rather than MT וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[18:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “weighing out in my hand.”

[18:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “a thousand [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of silver by weight.

[18:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “extend my hand against.”

[18:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “in our ears.”

[18:12]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text is very difficult here. The MT reads מִי (mi, “who”), apparently yielding the following sense: “Show care, whoever you might be, for the youth Absalom.” The Syriac Peshitta reads li (“for me”), the Hebrew counterpart of which may also lie behind the LXX rendering μοι (moi, “for me”). This reading seems preferable here, since it restores sense to the passage and most easily explains the rise of the variant.

[19:22]  ⁹ tn Heb “what to me and to you.”