2 Samuel 5:8

5:8 David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies ¹  by going through the water tunnel.” ²  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ³ 

2 Samuel 10:6

10:6 When the Ammonites realized that David was disgusted with them, ⁴  they ⁵  sent and hired 20,000 foot soldiers from Aram Beth Rehob and Aram Zobah, ⁶  in addition to 1,000 men from the king of Maacah and 12,000 men from Ish-tob. ⁷ 

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 ⁸  when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!” ⁹ 

2 Samuel 15:30

15:30 As David was going up the Mount of Olives, he was weeping as he went; his head was covered and his feet were bare. All the people who were with him also had their heads covered and were weeping as they went up.

2 Samuel 16:2

16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?” ¹⁰  Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread ¹¹  and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.” ¹² 

2 Samuel 16:8

16:8 The Lord has punished you for ¹³  all the spilled blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you rule. Now the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. Disaster has overtaken you, for you are a man of bloodshed!”

2 Samuel 18:18

18:18 Prior to this ¹⁴  Absalom had set up a monument ¹⁵  and dedicated it to himself in the King’s Valley, reasoning “I have no son who will carry on my name.” He named the monument after himself, and to this day it is known as Absalom’s Memorial.

2 Samuel 19:5

19:5 So Joab visited ¹⁶  the king at his home. He said, “Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.

2 Samuel 19:11

19:11 Then King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests saying, “Tell the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you delay any further in bringing the king back to his palace, ¹⁷  when everything Israel is saying has come to the king’s attention. ¹⁸ 

2 Samuel 20:12

20:12 Amasa was squirming in his own blood in the middle of the path, and this man had noticed that all the soldiers stopped. Having noticed that everyone who came across Amasa ¹⁹  stopped, the man ²⁰  pulled him ²¹  away from the path and into the field and threw a garment over him.

2 Samuel 21:4

21:4 The Gibeonites said to him, “We ²²  have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family, ²³  nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.” David asked, ²⁴  “What then are you asking me to do for you?”

¹ tc There is some confusion among the witnesses concerning this word. The Kethib is the Qal perfect 3cp שָׂנְאוּ (sanÿ’u, “they hated”), referring to the Jebusites’ attitude toward David. The Qere is the Qal passive participle construct plural שְׂנֻאֵי (sÿnu’e, “hated”), referring to David’s attitude toward the Jebusites. 4QSam^a has the Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular שָׂנְאָה (sanÿ’ah, “hated”), the subject of which would be “the soul of David.” The difference is minor and the translation adopted above works for either the Kethib or the Qere.

² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term has been debated. For a survey of various views, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 139-40.

³ tn Heb “the house.” TEV takes this as a reference to the temple (“the Lord’s house”).

⁴ tn Heb “that they were a stench [i.e., disgusting] with David.”

⁵ tn Heb “the Ammonites.”

⁶ tn Or “Arameans of Beth Rehob and Arameans of Zobah.”

⁷ tn Or perhaps “the men of Tob.” The ancient versions (the LXX, the Syriac Peshitta, and Vulgate) understand the name to be “Ish-tob.” It is possible that “Ish” is dittographic and that we should read simply “Tob,” a reading adopted by a number of recent English versions.

⁷ tn Heb “to our voice.”

⁸ 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!

¹⁰ tn Heb “What are these to you?”

¹¹ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְהַלֶּחֶם (vÿhallekhem, “and the bread”) rather than וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (ulÿhallekhem, “and to the bread”) of the Kethib. The syntax of the MT is confused here by the needless repetition of the preposition, probably taken from the preceding word.

¹² tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”

¹³ tn Heb “has brought back upon you.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

¹⁷ tn Heb “a pillar.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “came to.”

²² tn Heb “his house.”

²³ tc The Hebrew text adds “to his house” (= palace), but the phrase, which also appears earlier in the verse, is probably accidentally repeated here.

²⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Amasa) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man who spoke up in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tn Heb “Amasa.” For stylistic reasons the name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation.

²⁸ tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading לָנוּ (lanu, “to us”) rather than the MT לִי (li, “to me”). But for a contrary opinion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 53, 350.

²⁹ tn Heb “house.”

³⁰ tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.