2 Samuel 1:2

1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. ¹  When he approached David, the man ²  threw himself to the ground. ³ 

2 Samuel 2:23

2:23 But Asahel ⁴  refused to turn aside. So Abner struck him in the abdomen with the back end of his ⁵  spear. The spear came out his back; Asahel ⁶  collapsed on the spot and died there right before Abner. ⁷  Everyone who now comes to the place where Asahel fell dead pauses in respect. ⁸ 

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. ⁹  Mephibosheth was his name.

2 Samuel 14:22

14:22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked ¹⁰  the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your ¹¹  servant!”

¹ sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.

³ tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”

⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “the.” The article functions here as a possessive pronoun.

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Asahel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Abner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “and they stand.”

⁷ tn Heb “and was lame.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “blessed.”

¹¹ tc The present translation reads with the Qere “your” rather than the MT “his.”