2 Samuel 4:8

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 ¹  Saul and his descendants!”

2 Samuel 13:32

13:32 Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, said, “My lord should not say, ‘They have killed all the young men who are the king’s sons.’ For only Amnon is dead. This is what Absalom has talked about ²  from the day that Amnon ³  humiliated his sister Tamar.

2 Samuel 18:12

18:12 The man replied to Joab, “Even if ⁴  I were receiving ⁵  a thousand pieces of silver, ⁶  I would not strike ⁷  the king’s son! In our very presence ⁸  the king gave this order to you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ ⁹ 

2 Samuel 19:35

19:35 I am presently eighty years old. Am I able to discern good and bad? Can I ¹⁰  taste what I eat and drink? Am I still able to hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should I ¹¹  continue to be a burden to my lord the king?

2 Samuel 20:21

20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled ¹²  against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute ¹³  his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”

[4:8]  ¹ tn Heb “from.”

[13:32]  ² tn Heb “it was placed on the mouth of Absalom.”

[13:32]  ³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Amnon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[18:12]  ³ tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְלוּ (vÿlu, “and if”) rather than MT וְלֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[18:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “weighing out in my hand.”

[18:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “a thousand [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of silver by weight.

[18:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “extend my hand against.”

[18:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “in our ears.”

[18:12]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text is very difficult here. The MT reads מִי (mi, “who”), apparently yielding the following sense: “Show care, whoever you might be, for the youth Absalom.” The Syriac Peshitta reads li (“for me”), the Hebrew counterpart of which may also lie behind the LXX rendering μοι (moi, “for me”). This reading seems preferable here, since it restores sense to the passage and most easily explains the rise of the variant.

[19:35]  ⁴ tn Heb “your servant.”

[19:35]  ⁵ tn Heb “your servant.”

[20:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “lifted his hand.”

[20:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “Look!”