2 Samuel 4:7

4:7 They had entered ¹  the house while Ish-bosheth ²  was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him ³  and then cut off his head. ⁴  Taking his head, ⁵  they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night.

2 Samuel 7:19

7:19 And you didn’t stop there, O Lord God! You have also spoken about the future of your servant’s family. ⁶  Is this your usual way of dealing with men, ⁷  O Lord God?

2 Samuel 10:8

10:8 The Ammonites marched out and were deployed for battle at the entrance of the city gate, while the men from Aram Zobah, Rehob, Ish-tob, and Maacah were by themselves in the field.

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. ⁸  But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant ⁹  asks.

2 Samuel 15:20

15:20 It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men ¹⁰  with you. May genuine loyal love ¹¹  protect ¹²  you!”

2 Samuel 19:26

19:26 He replied, “My lord the king, my servant deceived me! I ¹³  said, ‘Let me get my donkey saddled so that I can ride on it and go with the king,’ for I ¹⁴  am lame.

2 Samuel 19:41

19:41 Then all the men of Israel began coming to the king. They asked the king, “Why did our brothers, the men of Judah, sneak the king away and help the king and his household cross the Jordan – and not only him but all of David’s men as well?”

¹ tn After the concluding disjunctive clause at the end of v. 6, the author now begins a more detailed account of the murder and its aftermath.

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

³ tn Heb “they struck him down and killed him.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

⁴ tn Heb “and they removed his head.” The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate lack these words.

⁵ tc The Lucianic Greek recension lacks the words “his head.”

⁶ tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O Lord God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”

⁷ tn Heb “and this [is] the law of man”; KJV “is this the manner of man, O Lord God?”; NAB “this too you have shown to man”; NRSV “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” This part of the verse is very enigmatic; no completely satisfying solution has yet been suggested. The present translation tries to make sense of the MT by understanding the phrase as a question that underscores the uniqueness of God’s dealings with David as described here. The parallel passage in 1 Chr 17:17 reads differently (see the note there).

¹¹ 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.

¹² 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.

¹⁶ tn Heb “brothers,” but see v. 22.

¹⁷ tn Heb “loyal love and truth.” The expression is a hendiadys.

¹⁸ tn Heb “be with.”

²¹ tn Heb “your servant.”

²² tn Heb “your servant.”