2 Samuel 2:1

David is Anointed King

2:1 Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied,¹ “To Hebron.”

2 Samuel 2:4

2:4 The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people² of Judah.

David was told,³ “The people⁴ of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.”

2 Samuel 3:13-14

3:13 So David said, “Good! I will make an agreement with you. I ask only one thing from you. You will not see my face unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal when you come to visit me.”⁵

3:14 David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth son of Saul with this demand:⁶ “Give me my wife Michal whom I acquired⁷ for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”

2 Samuel 3:18

3:18 Act now! For the Lord has said to David, ‘By the hand of my servant David I will save⁸ my people Israel from⁹ the Philistines and from all their enemies.’”

2 Samuel 3:35

3:35 Then all the people came and encouraged David to eat food while it was still day. But David took an oath saying, “God will punish me severely¹⁰ if I taste bread or anything whatsoever before the sun sets!”

2 Samuel 4:10

4:10 when someone told me that Saul was dead – even though he thought he was bringing good news¹¹ – I seized him and killed him in Ziklag. That was the good news I gave to him!

2 Samuel 5:19

5:19 So David asked the Lord, “Should I march up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord said to David, “March up, for I will indeed¹² hand the Philistines over to you.”

2 Samuel 6:12

6:12 David was told,¹³ “The Lord has blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything he owns because of the ark of God.” So David went and joyfully brought the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David.

2 Samuel 7:7

7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say¹⁴ to any of the leaders¹⁵ whom I appointed to care for¹⁶ my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house made from cedar?”’

2 Samuel 7:27

7:27 for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told¹⁷ your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’¹⁸ That is why your servant has had the courage¹⁹ to pray this prayer to you.

2 Samuel 11:10

11:10 So they informed David, “Uriah has not gone down to his house.” So David said to Uriah, “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey? Why haven’t you gone down to your house?”

2 Samuel 13:28

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk²⁰ and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!”²¹

2 Samuel 17:6

17:6 So Hushai came to Absalom. Absalom said to him, “Here is what Ahithophel has advised. Should we follow his advice? If not, what would you recommend?”

2 Samuel 17:16

17:16 Now send word quickly to David and warn him,²² “Don’t spend the night at the fords of the desert²³ tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over,²⁴ or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed.”²⁵

2 Samuel 18:5

18:5 The king gave this order to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “For my sake deal gently with the young man Absalom.” Now the entire army was listening when the king gave all the leaders this order concerning Absalom.

2 Samuel 19:8-9

19:8 So the king got up and sat at the city gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the city gate, they²⁶ all came before him.

David Goes Back to Jerusalem

But the Israelite soldiers²⁷ had all fled to their own homes.²⁸ 19:9 All the people throughout all the tribes of Israel were arguing among themselves saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies. He rescued us from the hand of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

2 Samuel 21:17

21:17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to David’s aid, striking the Philistine down and killing him. Then David’s men took an oath saying, “You will not go out to battle with us again! You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel!”

¹tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

²tn Heb “house.”

³tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.

⁴tn Heb “men.”

³tn The words “when you come to see my face,” though found in the Hebrew text, are somewhat redundant given the similar expression in the earlier part of the verse. The words are absent from the Syriac Peshitta.

⁴tn Heb “to Ish-bosheth son of Saul saying.” To avoid excessive sibilance (especially when read aloud) the translation renders “saying” as “with this demand.”

⁵tn Heb “whom I betrothed to myself.”

⁵tc The present translation follows the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate in reading “I will save,” rather than the MT “he saved.” The context calls for the 1st person common singular imperfect of the verb rather than the 3rd person masculine singular perfect.

⁶tn Heb “from the hand of.”

⁶tn Heb “Thus God will do to me and thus he will add.”

⁷tn Heb “and he was like a bearer of good news in his eyes.”

⁸tn The infinitive absolute lends emphasis to the following verb.

⁹tn Heb “and it was told to David, saying.”

¹⁰tn Heb “Did I speak a word?” In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question.

¹¹tn Heb “tribes” (so KJV, NASB, NCV), but the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:6 has “judges.”

¹²tn Heb “whom I commanded to shepherd” (so NIV, NRSV).

¹¹tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”

¹²tn Heb “a house.” This maintains the wordplay from v. 11 (see the note on the word “house” there) and is continued in v. 29.

¹³tn Heb “has found his heart.”

¹²tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

¹³tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

¹³tn Heb “send quickly and tell David saying.”

¹⁴tn Or “wilderness” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV).

¹⁵tn That is, “cross over the Jordan River.”

¹⁶tn Heb “swallowed up.”

¹⁴tn Heb “all the people.”

¹⁵tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” (see 18:16-17).

¹⁶tn Heb “had fled, each to his tent.”