2 Samuel 4:1

Ish-bosheth is killed

4:1 When Ish-bosheth ¹  the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened, ²  and all Israel was afraid.

2 Samuel 4:4

4:4 Now Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan arrived from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but in her haste to get away, he fell and was injured. ³  Mephibosheth was his name.

2 Samuel 5:8

5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies ⁴  by going through the water tunnel.” ⁵  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ⁶ 

2 Samuel 7:10

7:10 I will establish a place for my people Israel and settle ⁷  them there; they will live there and not be disturbed ⁸  any more. Violent men ⁹  will not oppress them again, as they did in the beginning

2 Samuel 11:1

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ¹⁰  normally conduct wars, ¹¹  David sent out Joab with his officers ¹²  and the entire Israelite army. ¹³  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 21:1

The Gibeonites Demand Revenge

21:1 During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. ¹⁵  The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, ¹⁶  because he murdered the Gibeonites.”

[4:1]  ¹ tn The MT does not specify the subject of the verb here, but the reference is to Ish-bosheth, so the name has been supplied in the translation for clarity. 4QSam^a and the LXX mistakenly read “Mephibosheth.”

[4:1]  ² tn Heb “his hands went slack.”

[4:4]  ³ tn Heb “and was lame.”

[5:8]  ⁴ tc There is some confusion among the witnesses concerning this word. The Kethib is the Qal perfect 3cp שָׂנְאוּ (sanÿ’u, “they hated”), referring to the Jebusites’ attitude toward David. The Qere is the Qal passive participle construct plural שְׂנֻאֵי (sÿnu’e, “hated”), referring to David’s attitude toward the Jebusites. 4QSam^a has the Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular שָׂנְאָה (sanÿ’ah, “hated”), the subject of which would be “the soul of David.” The difference is minor and the translation adopted above works for either the Kethib or the Qere.

[5:8]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40.

[5:8]  sn If a water tunnel is in view here, it is probably the so-called Warren’s Shaft that extends up from Hezekiah’s tunnel. It would have provided a means for surprise attack against the occupants of the city of David. The LXX seems not to understand the reference here, translating “by the water shaft” as “with a small knife.”

[5:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

[7:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “plant.”

[7:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “shaken.”

[7:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sons of violence.”

[11:1]  ¹⁰ tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאכִים, hammal’khim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammela’kim).

[11:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “go out.”

[11:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and his servants with him.”

[11:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “all Israel.”

[11:1]  ¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.

[11:1]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[21:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “sought the face of the Lord.”

[21:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and the house of bloodshed.”