2 Samuel 23:9

23:9 Next in command ¹  was Eleazar son of Dodo, ²  the son of Ahohi. He was one of the three warriors who were with David when they defied the Philistines who were assembled there for battle. When the men of Israel retreated, ³ 

2 Samuel 23:16

23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord

2 Samuel 23:18-19

23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ⁴  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ⁵  23:19 From ⁶  the three he was given honor and he became their officer, even though he was not one of the three.

2 Samuel 23:23

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.

Daniel 3:16-17

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ⁸  “We do not need to give you a reply ⁹  concerning this. 3:17 If ¹⁰  our God whom we are serving exists, ¹¹  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Ephesians 4:3

4:3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

¹ tn Heb “after him.”

² tc This follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading דֹּדוֹ (dodo) rather than the Kethib of the MT דֹּדַי (dodai; cf. ASV, NIV, NLT). But see 1 Chr 27:4.

³ tn Heb “went up.”

⁴ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hashÿlosa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”

⁵ tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”

⁶ tn Or “more than.”

⁷ tn Or “more than.”

⁸ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

⁹ tn Aram “to return a word to you.”

¹⁰ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

¹¹ tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.