2 Samuel 23:10

23:10 he stood his ground ¹  and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it ²  seemed stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory on that day. When the army returned to him, the only thing left to do was to plunder the corpses.

2 Samuel 23:18

23:18 Abishai son of Zeruiah, the brother of Joab, was head of the three. ³  He killed three hundred men with his spear and gained fame among the three. ⁴ 

2 Samuel 23:20

23:20 Benaiah son of Jehoida was a brave warrior ⁵  from Kabzeel who performed great exploits. He struck down the two sons of Ariel of Moab. ⁶  He also went down and killed a lion in a cistern on a snowy day.

[23:10]  ¹ tn Heb “arose.”

[23:10]  ² tn Heb “his hand.”

[23:18]  ³ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and Vulgate in reading הַשְּׁלֹשָׁה (hashÿlosa, “the three”) rather than the Kethib of the MT הַשָּׁלִשִׁי (hashalisi, “the third,” or “adjutant”). Two medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta have “thirty.”

[23:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he was wielding his spear against three hundred, [who were] slain, and to him there was a name among the three.”

[23:20]  ⁵ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading חַיִל (khayil, “valor”) rather than the Kethib of the MT, חַי (khay, “life”).

[23:20]  ⁶ tc Heb “the two of Ariel, Moab.” The precise meaning of אריאל is uncertain; some read “warrior.” The present translation assumes that the word is a proper name and that בני, “sons of,” has accidentally dropped from the text by homoioarcton (note the preceding שׁני).