2 Samuel 12:5-6

12:5 Then David became very angry at this man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! ¹  12:6 Because he committed this cold-hearted crime, he must pay for the lamb four times over!” ² 

2 Samuel 12:2

12:2 The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.

2 Samuel 1:9-10

1:9 He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off! ³  I’m very dizzy, ⁴  even though I’m still alive.’ ⁵  1:10 So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. ⁶  Then I took the crown which was on his head and the ⁷  bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.” ⁸ 

Psalms 50:16-21

50:16 God says this to the evildoer: ⁹ 

“How can you declare my commands,

and talk about my covenant? ¹⁰ 

50:17 For you hate instruction

and reject my words. ¹¹ 

50:18 When you see a thief, you join him; ¹² 

you associate with men who are unfaithful to their wives. ¹³ 

50:19 You do damage with words, ¹⁴ 

and use your tongue to deceive. ¹⁵ 

50:20 You plot against your brother; ¹⁶ 

you slander your own brother. ¹⁷ 

50:21 When you did these things, I was silent, ¹⁸ 

so you thought I was exactly like you. ¹⁹ 

But now I will condemn ²⁰  you

and state my case against you! ²¹ 

John 8:7-9

8:7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight ²²  and replied, ²³  “Whoever among you is guiltless ²⁴  may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8:8 Then ²⁵  he bent over again and wrote on the ground.

8:9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones, ²⁶  until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

Galatians 6:1

Support One Another

6:1 Brothers and sisters, ²⁷  if a person ²⁸  is discovered in some sin, ²⁹  you who are spiritual ³⁰  restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. ³¹  Pay close attention ³²  to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.

[12:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the man doing this [is] a son of death.” See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean “he is as good as dead” or “he deserves to die,” as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.

[12:6]  ² tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek translation has here “sevenfold” rather than “fourfold,” a reading that S. R. Driver thought probably to be the original reading (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 291). However, Exod 22:1 [21:37 HT] specifies fourfold repayment for a stolen sheep, which is consistent with 2 Sam 12:6. Some mss of the Targum and the Syriac Peshitta exaggerate the idea to “fortyfold.”

[1:9]  ³ tn As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [AB], 59) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. NLT “put me out of my misery.”

[1:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 59-60. The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.

[1:9]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the MT has sustained corruption in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the MT to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [AB], 57, n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the LXX lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew ms, codices A and B of the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta) lack “still.”

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsÿ’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).

[1:10]  ⁸ sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.

[50:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “evil [one].” The singular adjective is used here in a representative sense; it refers to those within the larger covenant community who have blatantly violated the Lord’s commandments. In the psalms the “wicked” (רְשָׁעִים, rÿsha’im) are typically proud, practical atheists (Ps 10:2, 4, 11) who hate God’s commands, commit sinful deeds, speak lies and slander, and cheat others (Ps 37:21).

[50:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “What to you to declare my commands and lift up my covenant upon your mouth?” The rhetorical question expresses sarcastic amazement. The Lord is shocked that such evildoers would give lip-service to his covenantal demands, for their lifestyle is completely opposed to his standards (see vv. 18-20).

[50:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and throw my words behind you.”

[50:18]  ¹² tn Heb “you run with him.”

[50:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “and with adulterers [is] your portion.”

[50:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your mouth you send with evil.”

[50:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and your tongue binds together [i.e., “frames”] deceit.”

[50:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “you sit, against your brother you speak.” To “sit” and “speak” against someone implies plotting against that person (see Ps 119:23).

[50:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “against the son of your mother you give a fault.”

[50:21]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “these things you did and I was silent.” Some interpret the second clause (“and I was silent”) as a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer, “[When you do these things], should I keep silent?” (cf. NEB). See GKC 335 §112.cc.

[50:21]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew infinitive construct (הֱיוֹת, heyot) appears to function like the infinitive absolute here, adding emphasis to the following finite verbal form (אֶהְיֶה, ’ehyeh). See GKC 339-40 §113.a. Some prefer to emend הֱיוֹת (heyot) to the infinitive absolute form הָיוֹ (hayo).

[50:21]  ²⁰ tn Or “rebuke” (see v. 8).

[50:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “and I will set in order [my case against you] to your eyes.” The cohortative form expresses the Lord’s resolve to accuse and judge the wicked.

[8:7]  ²² tn Or “he straightened up.”

[8:7]  ²³ tn Grk “and said to them.”

[8:7]  ²⁴ tn Or “sinless.”

[8:8]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[8:9]  ²⁶ tn Or “beginning from the eldest.”

[6:1]  ²⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:11.

[6:1]  ²⁸ tn Here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense, referring to both men and women.

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Or “some transgression” (L&N 88.297).

[6:1]  ³⁰ sn Who are spiritual refers to people who are controlled and directed by God’s Spirit.

[6:1]  ³¹ tn Or “with a gentle spirit” or “gently.”

[6:1]  ³² tn Grk “taking careful notice.”