2 Samuel 8:15

8:15 David reigned over all Israel; he guaranteed justice for all his people. ¹ 

2 Samuel 8:1

David Subjugates Nearby Nations

8:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah ²  from the Philistines. ³ 

2 Samuel 11:6

11:6 So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David.

2 Samuel 15:3-4

15:3 Absalom would then say to him, “Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate. ⁴  But there is no representative of the king who will listen to you.” 15:4 Absalom would then say, “If only they would make me ⁵  a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint ⁶  could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”

2 Samuel 15:2

15:2 Now Absalom used to get up early and stand beside the road that led to the city gate. Whenever anyone came by who had a complaint to bring to the king for arbitration, Absalom would call out to him, “What city are you from?” The person would answer, “I, your servant, ⁷  am from one of the tribes of Israel.”

2 Samuel 14:3

14:3 Go to the king and speak to him in the following fashion.” Then Joab told her what to say. ⁸ 

2 Samuel 16:2

16:2 The king asked Ziba, “Why did you bring these things?” ⁹  Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on, the loaves of bread ¹⁰  and the summer fruit are for the attendants to eat, and the wine is for those who get exhausted in the desert.” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 18:3

18:3 But the soldiers replied, ¹²  “You should not do this! ¹³  For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won’t be too concerned about us. ¹⁴  Even if half of us should die, they won’t be too concerned about us. But you ¹⁵  are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.”

2 Samuel 22:2

22:2 He said:

“The Lord is my high ridge, ¹⁶  my stronghold, ¹⁷  my deliverer.

Psalms 132:1-5

Psalm 132 ¹⁸ 

A song of ascents. ¹⁹ 

132:1 O Lord, for David’s sake remember

all his strenuous effort, ²⁰ 

132:2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,

and swore an oath to the powerful ruler of Jacob. ²¹ 

132:3 He said, ²²  “I will not enter my own home, ²³ 

or get into my bed. ²⁴ 

132:4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,

or my eyelids to slumber,

132:5 until I find a place for the Lord,

a fine dwelling place ²⁵  for the powerful ruler of Jacob.” ²⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “and David was doing what is just and fair for all his people.”

² tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).

³ tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”

⁴ tn Heb “good and straight.”

⁵ tn Heb “Who will make me?”

⁶ tn Heb “a complaint and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.

⁷ tn Heb “your servant.” So also in vv. 8, 15, 21.

⁸ tn Heb “put the words in her mouth” (so NASB, NIV).

⁹ tn Heb “What are these to you?”

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ tn The Hebrew text adds “to drink.”

¹² tn Heb “the people said.”

¹³ tn Heb “march out.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

¹⁵ tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (’atta, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (’atta, “now”).

¹⁶ tn Traditionally “is my rock”; CEV “mighty rock”; TEV “is my protector.” This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

¹⁷ tn Traditionally “my fortress”; TEV “my strong fortress”; NCV “my protection.”

¹⁸ sn Psalm 132. The psalmist reminds God of David’s devotion and of his promises concerning David’s dynasty and Zion.

¹⁹ sn The precise significance of this title, which appears in Pss 120-134, is unclear. Perhaps worshipers recited these psalms when they ascended the road to Jerusalem to celebrate annual religious festivals. For a discussion of their background see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 219-21.

²⁰ tn Heb “all his affliction.” This may refer to David’s strenuous and tireless efforts to make provision for the building of the temple (see 1 Chr 22:14). Some prefer to revocalize the text as עַנַוָתוֹ (’anavato, “his humility”).

²¹ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”

²² tn The words “he said” are supplied in the translation to clarify that what follows is David’s vow.

²³ tn Heb “the tent of my house.”

²⁴ tn Heb “go up upon the bed of my couch.”

²⁵ tn The plural form of the noun may indicate degree or quality; David envisions a special dwelling place (see Pss 43:3; 46:4; 84:1).

²⁶ tn Heb “the powerful [one] of Jacob.”