17:4 This seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all the leaders 3 of Israel.
1 tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.
2 tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”
3 tn Heb “elders.”