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 8:2

8:2 He defeated the Moabites. He made them lie on the ground and then used a rope to measure them off. He put two-thirds of them to death and spared the other third. ⁴  The Moabites became David’s subjects and brought tribute. ⁵ 

2 Samuel 12:4

12:4 “When a traveler arrived at the rich man’s home, ⁶  he did not want to use one of his own sheep or cattle to feed ⁷  the traveler who had come to visit him. ⁸  Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and cooked ⁹  it for the man who had come to visit him.”

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 19:35

19:35 I am presently eighty years old. Am I able to discern good and bad? Can I ¹³  taste what I eat and drink? Am I still able to hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should I ¹⁴  continue to be a burden to my lord the king?

2 Samuel 19:42

19:42 All the men of Judah replied to the men of Israel, “Because the king is our close relative! Why are you so upset about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? ¹⁵  Or have we misappropriated anything for our own use?”

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 “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”

⁵ tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”

⁷ tn Heb “came to the rich man.” In the translation “arrived at the rich man’s home” has been used for stylistic reasons.

⁸ tn Heb “and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for.”

⁹ tn Heb “who had come to him” (also a second time later in this verse). The word “visit” has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Heb “and prepared.”

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 “your servant.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “your servant.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “from the king.”