2 Samuel 14:14

14:14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored. 1 

2 Samuel 17:3

17:3 and will bring the entire army back to you. In exchange for the life of the man you are seeking, you will get back everyone. 2  The entire army will return unharmed.” 3 

2 Samuel 19:5

19:5 So Joab visited 4  the king at his home. He said, “Today you have embarrassed all your servants who have saved your life this day, as well as the lives of your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your concubines.

1 tn Heb “he devises plans for the one banished from him not to be banished.”

2 tc Heb “like the returning of all, the man whom you are seeking.” The LXX reads differently: “And I will return all the people to you the way a bride returns to her husband, except for the life of the one man whom you are seeking.” The other early versions also struggled with this verse. Modern translations are divided as well: the NAB, NRSV, REB, and NLT follow the LXX, while the NASB and NIV follow the Hebrew text.

3 tn Heb “all of the people will be safe.”

4 tn Heb “came to.”