2 Samuel 17:9

17:9 At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, ¹  whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’

2 Samuel 19:7

19:7 So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to ²  your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”

2 Samuel 22:14

22:14 The Lord thundered ³  from the sky;

the sovereign One ⁴  shouted loudly. ⁵ 

2 Samuel 22:33

22:33 The one true God ⁶  is my mighty refuge; ⁷ 

he removes ⁸  the obstacles in my way. ⁹ 

2 Samuel 22:48

22:48 The one true God completely vindicates me; ¹⁰ 

he makes nations submit to me. ¹¹ 

[17:9]  ¹ tn Heb “that he falls on them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] at the first [encounter]; or “that some of them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] fall at the first [encounter].”

[19:7]  ² tn Heb “and speak to the heart of.”

[22:14]  ³ tn The shortened theme vowel indicates that the prefixed verbal form is a preterite.

[22:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Most High.” This divine title (עֶלְיוֹן, ’elyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Ps 47:2.

[22:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “offered his voice.” In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the preterite form in the preceding line. The text of Ps 18:13 adds at this point, “hail and coals of fire.” These words are probably accidentally added from v. 12b; they do not appear in 2 Sam 22:14.

[22:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “the God.” See the note at v. 31.

[22:33]  ⁵ tc 4QSam^a has מְאַזְּרֵנִי (mÿ’azzÿreni, “the one girding me with strength”) rather than the MT מָעוּזִּי (ma’uzzi, “my refuge”). See as well Ps 18:32.

[22:33]  ⁶ tn The prefixed verbal form with vav consecutive here carries along the generalizing tone of the preceding line.

[22:33]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he sets free (from the verb נָתַר, natar) [the] blameless, his [Kethib; “my” (Qere)] way.” The translation follows Ps 18:32 in reading “he made my path smooth.” The term תָּמִים (tamim, “smooth”) usually carries a moral or ethical connotation, “blameless, innocent.” However, in Ps 18:33 it refers to a pathway free of obstacles. The reality underlying the metaphor is the psalmist’s ability to charge into battle without tripping (see vv. 33, 36).

[22:48]  ⁵ tn Heb “The God is the one who grants vengeance to me.” The plural form of the noun “vengeance” indicates degree here, suggesting complete vengeance or vindication. In the ancient Near East military victory was sometimes viewed as a sign that one’s God had judged in favor of the victor, avenging and/or vindicating him. See, for example, Judg 11:27, 32-33, 36.

[22:48]  ⁶ tn Heb “and [is the one who] brings down nations beneath me.”