2 Samuel 1:13

1:13 David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.” ¹ 

2 Samuel 7:5

7:5 “Go, tell my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord says: Do you really intend to build a house for me to live in?

2 Samuel 7:24

7:24 You made Israel your very own people for all time. ²  You, O Lord, became their God.

2 Samuel 7:28

7:28 Now, O sovereign Lord, you are the true God! ³  May your words prove to be true! ⁴  You have made this good promise to your servant! ⁵ 

2 Samuel 9:2

9:2 Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.” ⁶ 

2 Samuel 12:12

12:12 Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’” ⁷ 

2 Samuel 15:27

15:27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer? ⁸  Go back to the city in peace! Your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan may go with you and Abiathar. ⁹ 

2 Samuel 17:3

17:3 and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. ¹⁰  The entire army will return unharmed.” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 18:13

18:13 If I had acted at risk of my own life ¹²  – and nothing is hidden from the king! – you would have abandoned me.” ¹³ 

2 Samuel 19:10

19:10 But Absalom, whom we anointed as our king, ¹⁴  has died in battle. So now why do you hesitate to bring the king back?” ¹⁵ 

2 Samuel 19:14

19:14 He ¹⁶  won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man. Then they sent word to the king saying, “Return, you and all your servants as well.”

2 Samuel 19:29

19:29 Then the king replied to him, “Why should you continue speaking like this? You and Ziba will inherit the field together.”

2 Samuel 20:4

20:4 Then the king said to Amasa, “Call the men of Judah together for me in three days, ¹⁷  and you be present here with them too.”

2 Samuel 20:9

20:9 Joab said to Amasa, “How are you, my brother?” With his right hand Joab took hold of Amasa’s beard as if to greet him with a kiss.

2 Samuel 20:17

20:17 When he approached her, the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” He replied, “I am.” She said to him, “Listen to the words of your servant.” He said, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

2 Samuel 20:19

20:19 I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city ¹⁸  in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

[1:13]  ¹ tn The Hebrew word used here refers to a foreigner whose social standing was something less than that of native residents of the land, but something more than that of a nonresident alien who was merely passing through.

[7:24]  ² tn Heb “and you established for yourself your people Israel for yourself for a people permanently.”

[7:28]  ³ tn Heb “the God.” The article indicates uniqueness here.

[7:28]  ⁴ tn The translation understands the prefixed verb form as a jussive, indicating David’s wish/prayer. Another option is to take the form as an imperfect and translate “your words are true.”

[7:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you have spoken to your servant this good thing.”

[9:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “your servant.”

[12:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “and before the sun.”

[15:27]  ⁶ tn The Greek tradition understands the Hebrew word as an imperative (“see”). Most Greek mss have ἴδετε (idete); the Lucianic recension has βλέπε (blepe). It could just as well be taken as a question: “Don’t you see what is happening?” The present translation takes the word as a question, with the implication that Zadok is a priest and not a prophet (i.e., “seer”) and therefore unable to know what the future holds.

[15:27]  ⁷ tn Heb “And Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, two of your sons, with you.” The pronominal suffix on the last word is plural, referring to Zadok and Abiathar.

[17:3]  ⁷ tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.

[17:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”

[18:13]  ⁸ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and a number of the ancient versions in reading בְנַפְשִׁי (vÿnafshi, “against my life”) rather than the MT בְנַפְשׁוֹ (vÿnafsho, “against his life”).

[18:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “stood aloof.”

[19:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “over us.”

[19:10]  ¹⁰ tc The LXX includes the following words at the end of v. 11: “And what all Israel was saying came to the king’s attention.” The words are misplaced in the LXX from v. 12 (although the same statement appears there in the LXX as well).

[19:14]  ¹⁰ tn The referent of “he” is not entirely clear: cf. NCV “David”; TEV “David’s words”; NRSV, NLT “Amasa.”

[20:4]  ¹¹ tn The present translation follows the Masoretic accentuation, with the major mark of disjunction (i.e., the atnach) placed at the word “days.” However, some scholars have suggested moving the atnach to “Judah” a couple of words earlier. This would yield the following sense: “Three days, and you be present here with them.” The difference in meaning is slight, and the MT is acceptable as it stands.

[20:19]  ¹² tn Heb “a city and a mother.” The expression is a hendiadys, meaning that this city was an important one in Israel and had smaller cities dependent on it.