2 Samuel 6:17-23

6:17 They brought the ark of the Lord and put it in its place ¹  in the middle of the tent that David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before the Lord. 6:18 When David finished offering the burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 6:19 He then handed out to each member of the entire assembly of Israel, ²  both men and women, a portion of bread, a date cake, ³  and a raisin cake. Then all the people went home. ⁴  6:20 When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, ⁵  Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him. ⁶  She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished ⁷  himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool ⁸  might do!”

6:21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord! I was celebrating before the Lord, who chose me over your father and his entire family ⁹  and appointed me as leader over the Lord’s people Israel. 6:22 I am willing to shame and humiliate myself even more than this! ¹⁰  But with the slave girls whom you mentioned let me be distinguished!” 6:23 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, had no children to the day of her death.

[6:17]  ¹ tc The Syriac Peshitta lacks “in its place.”

[6:19]  ² tn Heb “to all the people, to all the throng of Israel.”

[6:19]  ³ tn The Hebrew word used here אֶשְׁפָּר (’espar) is found in the OT only here and in the parallel passage found in 1 Chr 16:3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, although the context indicates that it was a food of some sort (cf. KJV “a good piece of flesh”; NRSV “a portion of meat”). The translation adopted here (“date cake”) follows the lead of the Greek translations of the LXX, Aquila, and Symmachus (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[6:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “and all the people went, each to his house.”

[6:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

[6:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[6:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “honored.”

[6:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

[6:21]  ⁹ tn Heb “all his house”; CEV “anyone else in your family.”

[6:22]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will shame myself still more than this and I will be lowly in my eyes.”