2 Samuel 2:5

2:5 So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh Gilead and told them, “May you be blessed by the Lord because you have shown this kindness ¹  to your lord Saul by burying him.

2 Samuel 6:19

6:19 He then handed out to each member of the entire assembly of Israel, ²  both men and women, a portion of bread, a date cake, ³  and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home. ⁴ 

2 Samuel 6:21

6:21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ⁵  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel.

2 Samuel 7:27

7:27 for you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have told ⁶  your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’ ⁷  That is why your servant has had the courage ⁸  to pray this prayer to you.

2 Samuel 11:25

11:25 David said to the messenger, “Tell Joab, ‘Don’t let this thing upset you. ⁹  There is no way to anticipate whom the sword will cut down. ¹⁰  Press the battle against the city and conquer ¹¹  it.’ Encourage him with these words.” ¹² 

2 Samuel 17:21

17:21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan ¹³  climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream ¹⁴  quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.” ¹⁵ 

2 Samuel 21:1

The Gibeonites Demand Revenge

21:1 During David’s reign there was a famine for three consecutive years. So David inquired of the Lord. ¹⁶  The Lord said, “It is because of Saul and his bloodstained family, ¹⁷  because he murdered the Gibeonites.”

2 Samuel 21:6

21:6 let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute ¹⁸  them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord’s chosen one.” ¹⁹  The king replied, “I will turn them over.”

2 Samuel 21:8-9

21:8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab ²⁰  whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. 21:9 He turned them over to the Gibeonites, and they executed them on a hill before the Lord. The seven of them ²¹  died ²²  together; they were put to death during harvest time – during the first days of the beginning ²³  of the barley harvest.

¹ tn Or “loyalty.”

² tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”

³ tn The Hebrew word used here אֶשְׁפָּר (’espar) is found in the OT only here and in the parallel passage found in 1 Chr 16:3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, although the context indicates that it was a food of some sort (cf. KJV “a good piece of flesh”; NRSV “a portion of meat”). The translation adopted here (“date cake”) follows the lead of the Greek translations of the LXX, Aquila, and Symmachus (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”

³ tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”

⁴ tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”

⁵ tn Heb “a house.” This maintains the wordplay from v. 11 (see the note on the word “house” there) and is continued in v. 29.

⁶ tn Heb “has found his heart.”

⁵ tn Heb “let not this matter be evil in your eyes.”

⁶ tn Heb “according to this and according to this the sword devours.”

⁷ tn Heb “overthrow.”

⁸ tn The Hebrew text does not have “with these words.” They are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “the water.”

⁸ tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.

⁷ tn Heb “sought the face of the Lord.”

⁸ tn Heb “and the house of bloodshed.”

⁸ tn The exact nature of this execution is not altogether clear. The verb יָקַע (yaqa’) basically means “to dislocate” or “alienate.” In Gen 32:26 it is used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh. Figuratively it can refer to the removal of an individual from a group (e.g., Jer 6:8; Ezek 23:17) or to a type of punishment the specific identity of which is uncertain (e.g., here and Num 25:4); cf. NAB “dismember them”; NIV “to be killed and exposed.”

⁹ tc The LXX reads “at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord” (cf. 21:9). The present translation follows the MT, although a number of recent English translations follow the LXX reading here (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

⁹ tc The MT reads “Michal” here, but two Hebrew manuscripts read “Merab,” along with some LXX manuscripts. Cf. 1 Sam 18:19.

¹⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading שְׁבַעְתָּם (shÿva’tam, “the seven of them”) rather than MT שִׁבַעְתִּים (shiva’tim, “seventy”).

¹¹ tn Heb “fell.”

¹² tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בִּתְחִלַּת (bithkhillat, “in the beginning”) rather than MT תְחִלַּת (tÿkhillat, “beginning of”).