2 Samuel 1:26

1:26 I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!

You were very dear to me.

Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

2 Samuel 1:1

David Learns of the Deaths of Saul and Jonathan

1:1 After the death of Saul, ¹  when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, ²  he stayed at Ziklag ³  for two days.

2 Samuel 18:1-4

The Death of Absalom

18:1 David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds. 18:2 David then sent out the army – a third under the leadership of Joab, a third under the leadership of Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under the leadership of Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I too will indeed march out with you.”

18:3 But the soldiers replied, ⁴  “You should not do this! ⁵  For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won’t be too concerned about us. ⁶  Even if half of us should die, they won’t be too concerned about us. But you ⁷  are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.” 18:4 Then the king said to them, “I will do whatever seems best to you.”

So the king stayed beside the city gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.

2 Samuel 20:14-17

20:14 Sheba ⁸  traveled through all the tribes of Israel to Abel of ⁹  Beth Maacah and all the Berite region. When they had assembled, ¹⁰  they too joined him. 20:15 So Joab’s men ¹¹  came and laid siege against him in Abel of Beth Maacah. They prepared a siege ramp outside the city which stood against its outer rampart. As all of Joab’s soldiers were trying to break through ¹²  the wall so that it would collapse, 20:16 a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen up! Listen up! Tell Joab, ‘Come near so that I may speak to you.’”

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 20:1

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ¹³  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ¹⁴  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ¹⁵  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ¹⁶  O Israel!”

2 Samuel 23:16-18

23:16 So the three elite warriors broke through the Philistine forces and drew some water from the cistern in Bethlehem near the gate. They carried it back to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as a drink offering to the Lord 23:17 and said, “O Lord, I will not do this! ¹⁷  It is equivalent to the blood of the men who risked their lives by going.” ¹⁸  So he refused to drink it. Such were the exploits of the three elite warriors. ¹⁹ 

23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ²⁰  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ²¹ 

2 Samuel 23:1

David’s Final Words

23:1 These are the final words of David:

“The oracle of David son of Jesse,

the oracle of the man raised up as

the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, ²² 

Israel’s beloved ²³  singer of songs:

2 Samuel 2:7

2:7 Now be courageous ²⁴  and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”

Proverbs 27:10

27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,

and do not enter your brother’s house in the day of your disaster;

a neighbor nearby is better than a brother far away. ²⁵ 

Matthew 10:42

10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, ²⁶  he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 25:40

25:40 And the king will answer them, ²⁷  ‘I tell you the truth, ²⁸  just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters ²⁹  of mine, you did it for me.’

Mark 9:41

9:41 For I tell you the truth, ³⁰  whoever gives you a cup of water because ³¹  you bear Christ’s ³²  name will never lose his reward.

John 19:26-27

19:26 So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, ³³  look, here is your son!” 19:27 He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time ³⁴  the disciple took her into his own home.

Philemon 1:9-12

1:9 I would rather appeal ³⁵  to you on the basis of love – I, Paul, an old man ³⁶  and even now a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus ³⁷  – 1:10 I am appealing ³⁸  to you concerning my child, whose spiritual father I have become ³⁹  during my imprisonment, ⁴⁰  that is, Onesimus, 1:11 who was formerly useless to you, but is now useful to you ⁴¹  and me. 1:12 I have sent ⁴²  him (who is my very heart) ⁴³  back to you.

Philemon 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁴  a prisoner of Christ Jesus, ⁴⁵  and Timothy our ⁴⁶  brother, to Philemon, our dear friend ⁴⁷  and colaborer,

Philemon 1:8

Paul’s Request for Onesimus

1:8 So, although I have quite a lot of confidence in Christ and could command you to do what is proper,

[1:1]  ¹ sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.

[1:1]  ² sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).

[1:1]  ³ sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.

[18:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “the people said.”

[18:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “march out.”

[18:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

[18:3]  ⁷ 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”).

[20:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Sheba) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:14]  ⁹ tc In keeping with the form of the name in v. 15, the translation deletes the “and” found in the MT.

[20:14]  ¹⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ (vayyiqqahalu, “and they were gathered together”) rather than the Kethib of the MT וַיִּקְלֻהוּ (vayyiqluhu, “and they cursed him”). The Kethib is the result of metathesis.

[20:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they.” The following context makes it clear that this refers to Joab and his army.

[20:15]  ¹² tc The LXX has here ἐνοοῦσαν (enoousan, “were devising”), which apparently presupposes the Hebrew word מַחֲשָׁבִים (makhashavim) rather than the MT מַשְׁחִיתִם (mashkhitim, “were destroying”). With a number of other scholars Driver thinks that the Greek variant may preserve the original reading, but this seems to be an unnecessary conclusion (but see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 346).

[20:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”

[20:1]  ¹⁴ tn The expression used here יְמִינִי (yÿmini) is a short form of the more common “Benjamin.” It appears elsewhere in 1 Sam 9:4 and Esth 2:5. Cf. 1 Sam 9:1.

[20:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ¹⁶ tc The MT reads לְאֹהָלָיו (lÿ’ohalav, “to his tents”). For a similar idiom, see 19:9. An ancient scribal tradition understands the reading to be לְאלֹהָיו (le’lohav, “to his gods”). The word is a tiqqun sopherim, and the scribes indicate that they changed the word from “gods” to “tents” so as to soften its theological implications. In a consonantal Hebrew text the change involved only the metathesis of two letters.

[23:17]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Far be it to me, O Lord, from doing this.”

[23:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “[Is it not] the blood of the men who were going with their lives?”

[23:17]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “These things the three warriors did.”

[23:18]  ²⁰ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hashÿlosa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”

[23:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”

[23:1]  ²² tn Heb “the anointed one of the God of Jacob.”

[23:1]  ²³ tn Or “pleasant.”

[2:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “let your hands be strong.”

[27:10]  ²⁵ sn The meaning of the verse is very difficult, although the translation is rather straightforward. It may simply be saying that people should retain family relationships but will discover that a friend who is available is better than a relative who is not. But C. H. Toy thinks that the verse is made up of three lines that have no connection: 10a instructs people to maintain relationships, 10b says not to go to a brother’s house [only?] when disaster strikes, and 10c observes that a nearby friend is better than a far-away relative. C. H. Toy suggests a connection may have been there, but has been lost (Proverbs [ICC], 485-86). The conflict between 17:17 and 10b may be another example of presenting two sides of the issue, a fairly frequent occurrence in the book of Proverbs.

[10:42]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ²⁷ tn Grk “answering, the king will say to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[25:40]  ²⁸ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[25:40]  ²⁹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). In this context Jesus is ultimately speaking of his “followers” (whether men or women, adults or children), but the familial connotation of “brothers and sisters” is also important to retain here.

[9:41]  ³⁰ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:41]  ³¹ tn Grk “in [the] name that of Christ you are.”

[9:41]  ³² tn Or “bear the Messiah’s”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[19:26]  ³³ sn The term Woman is Jesus’ normal, polite way of addressing women (Matt 15:28, Luke 13:12; John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:15; see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1). But it is unusual for a son to address his mother with this term. The custom in both Hebrew (or Aramaic) and Greek would be for a son to use a qualifying adjective or title. Is there significance in Jesus’ use here? Jesus probably used the term here to help establish Mary and the beloved disciple in a new “mother-son” relationship. Someone would soon need to provide for Mary since Jesus, her oldest son, would no longer be alive. By using this term Jesus distanced himself from Mary so the beloved disciple could take his place as her earthly son (cf. John 2:4). See D. A. Carson, John, 617-18, for discussion about symbolic interpretations of this relationship between Mary and the beloved disciple.

[19:27]  ³⁴ tn Grk “from that very hour.”

[1:9]  ³⁵ tn Or “encourage.”

[1:9]  ³⁶ tn Or perhaps “an ambassador” (so RSV, TEV), reading πρεσβευτής for πρεσβύτης (a conjecture proposed by Bentley, cf. BDAG 863 s.v. πρεσβύτης). NRSV reads “old man” and places “ambassador” in a note.

[1:9]  ³⁷ tn Grk “a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

[1:10]  ³⁸ tn Or “I am encouraging…”

[1:10]  ³⁹ tn Grk “my child whom I have begotten.” The adjective “spiritual” has been supplied before “father” in the translation to clarify for the modern reader that Paul did not literally father a child during his imprisonment. Paul’s point is that he was instrumental in Onesimus’ conversion while in prison.

[1:10]  ⁴⁰ sn During my imprisonment. Apparently Onesimus became a believer under Paul’s shepherding while he [Paul] was a prisoner in Rome.

[1:11]  ⁴¹ tc ‡ A correlative καί (kai, “both you”) is found in a few witnesses (א*^,c F G 33 104 pc), perhaps either to underscore the value of Onesimus or in imitation of the νυνὶ δὲ καί (nuni de kai) in v. 9. The lack of καί is read by most witnesses, including א² A C D 0278 1739 1881 Ï it. Although a decision is difficult, the shorter reading has a slight edge in both internal and external evidence. NA²⁷ places the καί in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[1:12]  ⁴² tc There are several variants at this point in the text, most of them involving the addition of προσλαβοῦ (proslabou, “receive, accept”) at various locations in the verse. But all such variants seem to be motivated by the harsh syntax of the verse without this verb. Without the verb, the meaning is that Onesimus is Paul’s “very heart,” though this is an awkward expression especially because of τουτ᾿ ἔστιν (tout’ estin, “this is, who is”) in the middle cluttering the construction. Nowhere else in the NT is σπλάγχνα (splancna, here translated “heart”) used in apposition to people. It is thus natural that scribes would want to fill out the text here, and they did so apparently with a verb that was ready at hand (borrowed from v. 17). With the verb the sentence is converted into an object-complement construction: “I have sent him back to you; accept him, that is, as my very heart.” But both the fact that some important witnesses (א* A F G 33 pc) lack the verb, and that its location floats in the various constructions that have it, suggest that the original text did not have προσλαβοῦ.

[1:12]  ⁴³ tn That is, “who means a great deal to me”; Grk “whom I have sent to you, him, this one is my heart.”

[1:1]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ⁴⁵ sn The phrase a prisoner of Christ Jesus implies that Paul was being held prisoner because of his testimony for Christ Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment was due to his service to Christ, in the same manner as John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos because of his testimony (Rev 1:9).

[1:1]  ⁴⁶ tn “our” is not present in the Greek text, but was supplied to bring out the sense in English.

[1:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “dear.” The adjective is functioning as a substantive; i.e., “dear one” or “dear friend.”