2 Samuel 22:38-39

22:38 I chase my enemies and destroy them;

I do not turn back until I wipe them out.

22:39 I wipe them out and beat them to death;

they cannot get up;

they fall at my feet.

2 Samuel 21:5

21:5 They replied to the king, “As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel –

2 Samuel 23:7

23:7 The one who touches them

must use an iron instrument

or the wooden shaft of a spear.

They are completely burned up right where they lie!” ¹ 

2 Samuel 13:39

13:39 The king longed ²  to go to Absalom, for he had since been consoled over the death of Amnon. ³ 

2 Samuel 18:8

18:8 The battle there was spread out over the whole area, and the forest consumed more soldiers than the sword devoured that day.

2 Samuel 22:9

22:9 Smoke ascended from ⁴  his nose; ⁵ 

fire devoured as it came from his mouth; ⁶ 

he hurled down fiery coals. ⁷ 

[23:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and with fire they are completely burned up in [the place where they] remain.” The infinitive absolute is used before the finite verb to emphasize that they are completely consumed by the fire.

[13:39]  ¹ tc The translation follows 4QSam^a in reading רוּחַ הַמֶּלֶךְ (ruakh hammelekh, “the spirit of the king”) rather than the MT דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ (david hammelekh, “David the king”). The understanding reflected in the translation above is that David, though alienated during this time from his son Absalom, still had an abiding love and concern for him. He longed for reconciliation with him. A rather different interpretation of the verse supposes that David’s interest in taking military action against Absalom grew slack with the passing of time, and this in turn enabled David’s advisers to encourage him toward reconciliation with Absalom. For the latter view, see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 344, and cf. CEV.

[13:39]  ² tn Heb “was consoled over Amnon, because he was dead.”

[22:9]  ¹ tn Heb “within” or “[from] within.” For a discussion of the use of the preposition בְּ (bet) here, see R. B. Chisholm, “An Exegetical and Theological Study of Psalm 18/2 Samuel 22” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983), 163-64.

[22:9]  ² tn Or “in his anger.” The noun אַף (’af) can carry the abstract meaning “anger,” but the parallelism (note “from his mouth”) suggests the more concrete meaning “nose” here (most English versions, “nostrils”). See also v. 16, “the powerful breath of your nose.”

[22:9]  ³ tn Heb “fire from his mouth devoured.” In this poetic narrative the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. Note the two perfect verbal forms in the verse.

[22:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “coals burned from him.” Perhaps the psalmist pictures God’s fiery breath igniting coals (see Job 41:21), which he then hurls as weapons (see Ps 120:4).