2 Samuel 12:1

Nathan the Prophet Confronts David

12:1 So the Lord sent Nathan ¹  to David. When he came to David, ²  Nathan ³  said, ⁴  “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.

2 Samuel 12:3

12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. ⁵  It used to ⁶  eat his food, ⁷  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ⁸  It was just like a daughter to him.

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? ⁹  I would have given you ten pieces of silver ¹⁰  and a commemorative belt!” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 23:8

David’s Warriors

23:8 These are the names of David’s warriors:

Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was head of the officers. ¹²  He killed eight hundred men with his spear in one battle. ¹³ 

¹ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta add “the prophet.” The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., TEV, CEV, NLT).

² tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn The Hebrew text repeats “to him.”

⁵ tn Heb “his sons.”

⁶ tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

⁷ tn Heb “from his morsel.”

⁸ tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”

⁹ tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

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

¹³ tn The Hebrew word is sometimes rendered as “the three,” but BDB is probably correct in taking it to refer to military officers (BDB 1026 s.v. שְׁלִישִׁי). In that case the etymological connection of this word to the Hebrew numerical adjective for “three” can be explained as originating with a designation for the third warrior in a chariot.

¹⁴ tc The translation follows some LXX mss (see 1 Chr 11:11 as well) in reading הוּא עוֹרֵר אֶת־חֲנִיתוֹ (hu’ ’orer ’et khanito, “he raised up his spear”) rather than the MT’s הוּא עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי (hu’ ’adino ha’etsni [Kethib = הָעֶצְנוֹ, ha’etsno]; “Adino the Ezenite”). The emended text reads literally “he was wielding his spear against eight hundred, [who were] slain at one time.”