2 Samuel 4:7-8

4:7 They had entered ¹  the house while Ish-bosheth ²  was resting on his bed in his bedroom. They mortally wounded him ³  and then cut off his head. ⁴  Taking his head, ⁵  they traveled on the way of the Arabah all that night. 4:8 They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David in Hebron, saying to the king, “Look! The head of Ish-bosheth son of Saul, your enemy who sought your life! The Lord has granted vengeance to my lord the king this day against ⁶  Saul and his descendants!”

[4:7]  ¹ tn After the concluding disjunctive clause at the end of v. 6, the author now begins a more detailed account of the murder and its aftermath.

[4:7]  ² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Ish-bosheth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[4:7]  ³ tn Heb “they struck him down and killed him.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they removed his head.” The Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate lack these words.

[4:7]  ⁵ tc The Lucianic Greek recension lacks the words “his head.”

[4:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “from.”