2 Samuel 1:16

1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”

2 Samuel 2:22

2:22 So Abner spoke again to Asahel, “Turn aside from following me! I do not want to strike you to the ground. ¹  How then could I show ²  my face in the presence of Joab your brother?”

2 Samuel 2:27

2:27 Joab replied, “As surely as God lives, if you had not said this, it would have been morning before the people would have abandoned pursuit ³  of their brothers!”

2 Samuel 4:9

4:9 David replied to Recab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As surely as the Lord lives, who has delivered my life from all adversity,

2 Samuel 12:19

12:19 When David saw that his servants were whispering to one another, he ⁴  realized that the child was dead. So David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “Yes, he’s dead.”

2 Samuel 12:23

12:23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Am I able to bring him back? I will go to him, but he cannot return to me!’”

2 Samuel 14:18

14:18 Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak!”

2 Samuel 15:3-4

15:3 Absalom would then say to him, “Look, your claims are legitimate and appropriate. ⁵  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 ⁶  a judge in the land! Then everyone who had a judicial complaint ⁷  could come to me and I would make sure he receives a just settlement.”

2 Samuel 15:31

15:31 Now David ⁸  had been told, “Ahithophel has sided with the conspirators who are with Absalom. So David prayed, ⁹  “Make the advice of Ahithophel foolish, O Lord!”

2 Samuel 19:32

19:32 But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich ¹⁰  man.

2 Samuel 22:3

22:3 My God ¹¹  is my rocky summit where I take shelter, ¹² 

my shield, the horn that saves me, ¹³  my stronghold,

my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence! ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 22:31

22:31 The one true God acts in a faithful manner; ¹⁵ 

the Lord’s promise is reliable; ¹⁶ 

he is a shield to all who take shelter in him.

[2:22]  ¹ tn Heb “Why should I strike you to the ground?”

[2:22]  ² tn Heb “lift.”

[2:27]  ¹ tn The Hebrew verb נַעֲלָה (na’alah) used here is the Niphal perfect 3rd person masculine singular of עָלָה (’alah, “to go up”). In the Niphal this verb “is used idiomatically, of getting away from so as to abandon…especially of an army raising a siege…” (see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 244).

[12:19]  ¹ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun (“he”) for stylistic reasons.

[15:3]  ¹ tn Heb “good and straight.”

[15:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Who will make me?”

[15:4]  ² tn Heb “a complaint and a judgment.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[15:31]  ¹ tc The translation follows 4QSam^a, part of the Greek tradition, the Syriac Peshitta, Targum, and Vulgate uldavid in reading “and to David,” rather than MT וְדָוִד (vÿdavid, “and David”). As Driver points out, the Hebrew verb הִגִּיד (higgid, “he related”) never uses the accusative for the person to whom something is told (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 316).

[15:31]  ² tn Heb “said.”

[19:32]  ¹ tn Heb “great.”

[22:3]  ¹ tc The translation (along with many English versions, e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT) follows the LXX in reading אֱלֹהִי (’elohi, “my God”) rather than MT’s אֱלֹהֵי (’elohe, “the God of”). See Ps 18:2.

[22:3]  ² tn Or “in whom.”

[22:3]  ³ tn Heb “the horn of my salvation,” or “my saving horn.”

[22:3]  ⁴ tn The parallel version of the song in Ps 18 does not include this last line.

[22:31]  ¹ tn Heb “[As for] the God, his way is blameless.” The term הָאֵל (ha’el, “the God”) stands as a nominative (or genitive) absolute in apposition to the resumptive pronominal suffix on “way.” The prefixed article emphasizes his distinctiveness as the one true God (see BDB 42 s.v. II אֵל 6; Deut 33:26). God’s “way” in this context refers to his protective and salvific acts in fulfillment of his promise (see also Deut 32:4; Pss 67:2; 77:13 [note vv. 11-12, 14]; 103:7; 138:5; 145:17).

[22:31]  ² tn Heb “the word of the Lord is purified.” The Lord’s “word” probably refers here to his oracle(s) of victory delivered to the psalmist before the battle(s) described in the following context. See also Pss 12:5-7 and 138:2-3. David frequently received such oracles before going into battle (see 1 Sam 23:2, 4-5, 10-12; 30:8; 2 Sam 5:19). The Lord’s word of promise is absolutely reliable; it is compared to metal that has been refined in fire and cleansed of impurities. See Ps 12:6. In the ancient Near East kings would typically seek and receive oracles from their god(s) prior to battle. For examples, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 241-42.