2 Samuel 3:13

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.” ¹ 

2 Samuel 3:25

3:25 You know Abner the son of Ner! Surely he came here to spy on you and to determine when you leave and when you return ²  and to discover everything that you are doing!”

2 Samuel 5:2

5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel. ³  The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”

2 Samuel 7:7

7:7 Wherever I moved among all the Israelites, I did not say ⁴  to any of the leaders ⁵  whom I appointed to care for ⁶  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 told ⁷  your servant, ‘I will build you a dynastic house.’ ⁸  That is why your servant has had the courage ⁹  to pray this prayer to you.

2 Samuel 10:3

10:3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy? ¹⁰  No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 14:20

14:20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.” ¹² 

2 Samuel 15:12

15:12 While he was offering sacrifices, Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s adviser, ¹³  to come from his city, Giloh. ¹⁴  The conspiracy was gaining momentum, and the people were starting to side with Absalom.

¹ tn 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.

² tn Heb “your going out and your coming in.” The expression is a merism. It specifically mentions the polar extremities of the actions but includes all activity in between the extremities as well, thus encompassing the entirety of one’s activities.

³ tn Heb “you were the one leading out and the one leading in Israel.”

⁴ tn Heb “Did I speak a word?” In the Hebrew text the statement is phrased as a rhetorical question.

⁵ tn Heb “tribes” (so KJV, NASB, NCV), but the parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:6 has “judges.”

⁶ tn Heb “whom I commanded to shepherd” (so NIV, NRSV).

⁵ tn Heb “have uncovered the ear of.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “has found his heart.”

⁶ tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”

⁷ tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”

⁷ tn Heb “to know all that is in the land.”

⁸ tn Traditionally, “counselor,” but this term is more often associated with psychological counseling today, so “adviser” was used in the translation instead.

⁹ tn Heb “Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, the adviser of David, from his city, from Giloh, while he was sacrificing.” It is not entirely clear who (Absalom or Ahithophel) was offering the sacrifices.