2 Samuel 3:9

3:9 God will severely judge Abner ¹  if I do not do for David exactly what the Lord has promised him, ² 

2 Samuel 3:28

3:28 When David later heard about this, he said, “I and my kingdom are forever innocent before the Lord of the shed blood of Abner son of Ner!

2 Samuel 5:25

5:25 David did just as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Gibeon all the way to Gezer. ³ 

2 Samuel 7:22

7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you! There is no God besides you! What we have heard is true! ⁴ 

2 Samuel 8:1

David Subjugates Nearby Nations

8:1 Later David defeated the Philistines and subdued them. David took Metheg Ammah ⁵  from the Philistines. ⁶ 

2 Samuel 13:1

The Rape of Tamar

13:1 Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David’s son Amnon fell madly in love with her. ⁷ 

2 Samuel 13:12

13:12 But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t humiliate me! This just isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this foolish thing!

2 Samuel 13:18

13:18 (Now she was wearing a long robe, ⁸  for this is what the king’s virgin daughters used to wear.) So Amnon’s ⁹  attendant removed her and bolted the door ¹⁰  behind her.

2 Samuel 16:19

16:19 Moreover, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you.” ¹¹ 

2 Samuel 18:14

18:14 Joab replied, “I will not wait around like this for you!” He took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the middle of Absalom while he was still alive in the middle of the oak tree. ¹² 

2 Samuel 21:18

21:18 Later there was another battle with the Philistines, this time in Gob. On that occasion Sibbekai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the descendants of Rapha.

[3:9]  ¹ tn Heb “So will God do to Abner and so he will add to him.”

[3:9]  ² tc Heb “has sworn to David.” The LXX, with the exception of the recension of Origen, adds “in this day.”

[5:25]  ³ tn Heb “from Gibeon until you enter Gezer.”

[7:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “in all which we heard with our ears.” The phrase translated “in all” בְּכֹל (bÿkhol) should probably be emended to “according to all” כְּכֹל (kÿkhol).

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the bridle of one cubit.” Many English versions treat this as a place name because the parallel text in 1 Chr 18:1 reads “Gath” (which is used by NLT here). It is possible that “the bridle of one cubit” is to be understood as “the token of surrender,” referring to the Philistine’s defeat rather than a specific place (cf. TEV, CEV).

[8:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “from the hand [i.e., control] of the Philistines.”

[13:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “Amnon the son of David loved her.” The following verse indicates the extreme nature of his infatuation, so the translation uses “madly in love” here.

[13:18]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew expression used here (כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים, kÿtonet passim) is found only here and in Gen 37:3, 23, 32. Hebrew פַּס (pas) can refer to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot; here the idea is probably that of a long robe reaching to the feet and having sleeves reaching to the wrists. The notion of a “coat of many colors” (KJV, ASV “garment of divers colors”), a familiar translation for the phrase in Genesis, is based primarily on the translation adopted in the LXX χιτῶνα ποικίλον (citona poikilion) and does not have a great deal of support.

[13:18]  ¹² tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amnon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:18]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew verb is a perfect with nonconsecutive vav, probably indicating an action (locking the door) that complements the preceding one (pushing her out the door).

[16:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “Just as I served before your father, so I will be before you.”

[18:14]  ¹⁵ tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”