2 Samuel 22:17

22:17 He reached down from above and grabbed me; ¹ 

he pulled me from the surging water. ² 

2 Samuel 24:14

24:14 David said to Gad, “I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!” ³ 

2 Samuel 14:2

14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman. He told her, “Pretend to be in mourning ⁴  and put on garments for mourning. Don’t anoint yourself with oil. Instead, act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for some time. ⁵ 

[22:17]  ¹ tn Heb “stretched.” Perhaps “his hand” should be supplied by ellipsis (see Ps 144:7). In this poetic narrative context the three prefixed verbal forms in this verse are best understood as preterites indicating past tense, not imperfects.

[22:17]  ² tn Heb “mighty waters.” The waters of the sea symbolize the psalmist’s powerful enemies, as well as the realm of death they represent (see v. 5 and Ps 144:7).

[24:14]  ³ tn Heb “There is great distress to me. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for great is his mercy, but into the hand of man let me not fall.”

[14:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew Hitpael verbal form here indicates pretended rather than genuine action.

[14:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “these many days.”