2 Samuel 5:6

David Occupies Jerusalem

5:6 Then the king and his men advanced to Jerusalem ¹  against the Jebusites who lived in the land. The Jebusites ²  said to David, “You cannot invade this place! Even the blind and the lame will turn you back, saying, ‘David cannot invade this place!’”

2 Samuel 11:1

David Commits Adultery with Bathsheba

11:1 In the spring of the year, at the time when kings ³  normally conduct wars, ⁴  David sent out Joab with his officers ⁵  and the entire Israelite army. ⁶  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 16:3

16:3 The king asked, “Where is your master’s grandson?” ⁸  Ziba replied to the king, “He remains in Jerusalem, ⁹  for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will give back to me my grandfather’s ¹⁰  kingdom.’”

2 Samuel 18:24

18:24 Now David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, ¹¹  and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate at the wall. When he looked, he saw a man running by himself.

2 Samuel 19:8

19:8 So the king got up and sat at the city gate. When all the people were informed that the king was sitting at the city gate, they ¹²  all came before him.

David Goes Back to Jerusalem

But the Israelite soldiers ¹³  had all fled to their own homes. ¹⁴ 

¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

² tn The Hebrew text has “he” rather than “the Jebusites.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. In the Syriac Peshitta and some mss of the Targum the verb is plural rather than singular.

³ tc Codex Leningrad (B19A), on which BHS is based, has here “messengers” (הַמַּלְאכִים, hammal’khim), probably as the result of contamination from the occurrence of that word in v. 4. The present translation follows most Hebrew mss and the ancient versions, which read “kings” (הַמֶּלָאכִים, hammela’kim).

⁴ tn Heb “go out.”

⁵ tn Heb “and his servants with him.”

⁶ tn Heb “all Israel.”

⁷ tn The disjunctive clause contrasts David’s inactivity with the army’s activity.

⁵ tn Heb “son.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ tn Heb “my father’s.”

⁷ tn Heb “the two gates.”

⁹ tn Heb “all the people.”

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text has simply “Israel” (see 18:16-17).

¹¹ tn Heb “had fled, each to his tent.”