2 Samuel 23:3

23:3 The God of Israel spoke,

the protector ¹  of Israel spoke to me.

The one who rules fairly among men,

the one who rules in the fear of God,

2 Samuel 3:11

3:11 Ish-bosheth ²  was unable to answer Abner with even a single word because he was afraid of him.

2 Samuel 9:7

9:7 David said to him, “Don’t be afraid, because I will certainly extend kindness to you for the sake of Jonathan your father. You will be a regular guest at my table.” ³ 

2 Samuel 22:46

22:46 Foreigners lose their courage; ⁴ 

they shake with fear ⁵  as they leave ⁶  their strongholds. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 17:10

17:10 If that happens even the bravest soldier – one who is lion-hearted – will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave.

2 Samuel 13:28

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ⁸  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!” ⁹ 

2 Samuel 10:19

10:19 When all the kings who were subject to Hadadezer ¹⁰  saw they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with Israel and became subjects of Israel. ¹¹  The Arameans were no longer willing to help the Ammonites.

2 Samuel 22:5

22:5 The waves of death engulfed me;

the currents ¹²  of chaos ¹³  overwhelmed me. ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 12:18

12:18 On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us ¹⁵  when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!” ¹⁶ 

2 Samuel 14:15

14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful. ¹⁷  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ¹⁸  asks.

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?”

2 Samuel 4:1

Ish-bosheth is killed

4:1 When Ish-bosheth ¹⁹  the son of Saul heard that Abner had died in Hebron, he was very disheartened, ²⁰  and all Israel was afraid.

2 Samuel 6:9

6:9 David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How will the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”

2 Samuel 2:7

2:7 Now be courageous ²¹  and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”

2 Samuel 9:6

9:6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed low with his face toward the ground. ²²  David said, “Mephibosheth?” He replied, “Yes, at your service.” ²³ 

2 Samuel 17:2

17:2 When I catch up with ²⁴  him he will be exhausted and worn out. ²⁵  I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king

¹ tn Heb “rock,” used as a metaphor of divine protection.

² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “and you will eat food over my table continually.”

⁴ tn Heb “wither, wear out.”

⁵ tc The translation assumes a reading וְיַחְרְגוּ (vÿyakhrÿgu, “and they quaked”) rather than the MT וְיַחְגְּרוּ (vÿyakhgÿru, “and they girded themselves”). See the note at Ps 18:45.

⁶ tn Heb “from.”

⁷ tn Heb “prisons.” Their besieged cities are compared to prisons.

⁵ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

⁶ tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

⁶ tn Heb “the servants of Hadadezer.”

⁷ tn Heb “and they served them.”

⁷ tn The noun נַחַל (nakhal) usually refers to a river or stream, but in this context the plural form likely refers to the currents of the sea (see vv. 15-16).

⁸ tn The noun בְלִיַּעַל (bÿliyya’al) is used here as an epithet for death. Elsewhere it is a common noun meaning “wickedness, uselessness” (see HALOT 133-34 s.v. בְּלִיַּעַל). It is often associated with rebellion against authority and other crimes that result in societal disorder and anarchy. The phrase “man/son of wickedness” refers to one who opposes God and the order he has established. The term becomes an appropriate title for death, which, through human forces, launches an attack against God’s chosen servant.

⁹ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. (Note the perfect verbal form in the parallel/preceding line.) The verb בָּעַת (ba’at) sometimes by metonymy carries the nuance “frighten,” but the parallelism (note “engulfed” in the preceding line) favors the meaning “overwhelm” here.

⁸ tn Heb “to our voice.”

⁹ tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!

⁹ tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.

¹⁰ tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.

¹⁰ tn The MT does not specify the subject of the verb here, but the reference is to Ish-bosheth, so the name has been supplied in the translation for clarity. 4QSam^a and the LXX mistakenly read “Mephibosheth.”

¹¹ tn Heb “his hands went slack.”

¹¹ tn Heb “let your hands be strong.”

¹² tn Heb “he fell on his face and bowed down.”

¹³ tn Heb “Look, your servant.”

¹³ tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”