2 Samuel 20:1

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ¹  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ²  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ³  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ⁴  O Israel!”

2 Samuel 20:1

Sheba’s Rebellion

20:1 Now a wicked man ⁵  named Sheba son of Bicri, a Benjaminite, ⁶  happened to be there. He blew the trumpet ⁷  and said,

“We have no share in David;

we have no inheritance in this son of Jesse!

Every man go home, ⁸  O Israel!”

2 Samuel 12:16

12:16 Then David prayed to ⁹  God for the child and fasted. ¹⁰  He would even ¹¹  go and spend the night lying on the ground.

2 Samuel 22:36

22:36 You give me ¹²  your protective shield; ¹³ 

your willingness to help enables me to prevail. ¹⁴ 

2 Samuel 22:2

22:2 He said:

“The Lord is my high ridge, ¹⁵  my stronghold, ¹⁶  my deliverer.

2 Samuel 14:12

14:12 Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.”

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

[20:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ⁴ 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.

[20:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man of worthlessness.”

[20:1]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet). So also v. 22.

[20:1]  ⁸ 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.

[12:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “sought” or “searched for.”

[12:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and David fasted.”

[12:16]  ¹¹ tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David’s praying and fasting.

[22:36]  ¹² tn Another option is to translate the prefixed verb with vav consecutive with a past tense, “you gave me.” Several prefixed verbal forms with vav consecutive also appear in vv. 38-44. The present translation understands this section as a description of what generally happened when the author charged into battle, but another option is to understand the section as narrative and translate accordingly.

[22:36]  ¹³ tc Ps 18:35 contains an additional line following this one, which reads “your right hand supports me.” It may be omitted here due to homoioarcton. See the note at Ps 18:35.

[22:36]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “your answer makes me great.” David refers to God’s willingness to answer his prayer.

[22:2]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally “is my rock”; CEV “mighty rock”; TEV “is my protector.” This metaphor pictures God as a rocky, relatively inaccessible summit, where one would be able to find protection from enemies. See 1 Sam 23:25, 28.

[22:2]  ¹⁶ tn Traditionally “my fortress”; TEV “my strong fortress”; NCV “my protection.”