2 Samuel 7:18

David Offers a Prayer to God

7:18 King David went in, sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, ¹  that you should have brought me to this point?

2 Samuel 12:10

12:10 So now the sword will never depart from your house. For you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own!’

2 Samuel 13:14

13:14 But he refused to listen to her. ²  He overpowered her and humiliated her by raping her. ³ 

2 Samuel 13:28

13:28 Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk ⁴  and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there. Don’t fear! Is it not I who have given you these instructions? Be strong and courageous!” ⁵ 

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. ⁶ 

2 Samuel 18:1

The Death of Absalom

18:1 David assembled the army that was with him. He appointed leaders of thousands and leaders of hundreds.

2 Samuel 1:5

1:5 David said to the young man ⁷  who was telling him this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁸ 

2 Samuel 2:24-25

2:24 So Joab and Abishai chased Abner. At sunset they came to the hill of Ammah near Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon. 2:25 The Benjaminites formed their ranks ⁹  behind Abner and were like a single army, standing at the top of a certain hill.

2 Samuel 11:6-8

11:6 So David sent a message to Joab that said, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent Uriah to David. 11:7 When Uriah came to him, David asked about how Joab and the army were doing and how the campaign was going. ¹⁰  11:8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your home and relax.” ¹¹  When Uriah left the palace, the king sent a gift to him. ¹² 

2 Samuel 12:14

12:14 Nonetheless, because you have treated the Lord with such contempt ¹³  in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”

[7:18]  ¹ tn Heb “house.”

[13:14]  ² tn Heb “to her voice.”

[13:14]  ³ tn Heb “and he humiliated her and lay with her.”

[13:28]  ⁴ tn Heb “when good is the heart of Amnon with wine.”

[13:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “and become sons of valor.”

[18:14]  ⁶ 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.”

[1:5]  ⁷ tn In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.

[1:5]  ⁸ tc Instead of the MT “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’” the Syriac Peshitta reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”

[2:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “were gathered together.”

[11:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “concerning the peace of Joab and concerning the peace of the people and concerning the peace of the battle.”

[11:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and wash your feet.”

[11:8]  ¹² tn Heb “and there went out after him the gift of the king.”

[12:14]  ¹³ tc The MT has here “because you have caused the enemies of the Lord to treat the Lord with such contempt.” This is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or “emendations of the scribes.” According to this ancient tradition, the scribes changed the text in order to soften somewhat the negative light in which David was presented. If that is the case, the MT reflects the altered text. The present translation departs from the MT here. Elsewhere the Piel stem of this verb means “treat with contempt,” but never “cause someone to treat with contempt.”