2 Samuel 15:18

15:18 All his servants were leaving with him, ¹  along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with ²  the king.

2 Samuel 20:7

20:7 So Joab’s men, accompanied by the Kerethites, the Pelethites, and all the warriors, left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba son of Bicri.

2 Samuel 20:23

20:23 Now Joab was the general in command of all the army of Israel. Benaiah the son of Jehoida was over the Kerethites and the Perethites.

2 Samuel 23:20-23

23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior ³  from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. ⁴  He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day. 23:21 He also killed an impressive-looking Egyptian. ⁵  The Egyptian wielded a spear, while Benaiah attacked ⁶  him with a club. He grabbed the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 23:22 Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoida, who gained fame among the three elite warriors. 23:23 He received honor from ⁷  the thirty warriors, though he was not one of the three elite warriors. David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

2 Samuel 23:1

David’s Final Words

23:1 These are the final words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man raised up as

the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ⁸ 

Israel’s beloved ⁹  singer of songs:

2 Samuel 1:14

1:14 David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

Ezekiel 25:16

25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill ¹⁰  the Cherethites ¹¹  and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.

Zephaniah 2:5

2:5 Those who live by the sea, the people who came from Crete, ¹²  are as good as dead. ¹³ 

The Lord has decreed your downfall, ¹⁴  Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy everyone who lives there!” ¹⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”

² tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”

³ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חַיִל (khayil, “valor”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חַי (khay, “life”).

⁴ tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני).

⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”).

⁶ tn Heb “and he went down to.”

⁷ tn Or “more than.”

⁸ tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”

⁹ tn Or “pleasant.”

¹⁰ tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.

¹¹ sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.

¹² tn Heb “Kerethites,” a people settled alongside the Philistines in the coastal areas of southern Palestine (cf. 1 Sam 30:14; Ezek 25:16). They originally came from the island of Crete.

¹³ tn Heb “Woe, inhabitants of the coast of the sea, nation of Kerethites.” The Hebrew term הוֹי (hoy, “ah, woe”), is used to mourn the dead and express outwardly one’s sorrow (see 1 Kgs 13:30; Jer 22:18; 34:5). By using it here the prophet mourns in advance the downfall of the Philistines, thereby emphasizing the certainty of their demise (“as good as dead”). Some argue the word does not have its earlier connotation here and is simply an attention-getting interjection, equivalent to “Hey!”

¹⁴ tn Heb “the word of the Lord is against you.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “I will destroy you so there is no inhabitant [remaining].”