2 Samuel 2:4

2:4 The men of Judah came and there they anointed David as king over the people¹ of Judah.

David was told,² “The people³ of Jabesh Gilead are the ones who buried Saul.”

2 Samuel 3:3

3:3 His second son⁴ was Kileab, born to Abigail the widow⁵ of Nabal the Carmelite. His third son was Absalom, the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur.

2 Samuel 3:23-24

3:23 When Joab and all the army that was with him arrived, Joab was told: “Abner the son of Ner came to the king; he sent him away, and he left in peace!”

3:24 So Joab went to the king and said, “What have you done? Abner⁶ has come to you! Why would you send him away? Now he’s gone on his way!⁷

2 Samuel 3:39

3:39 Today I am weak, even though I am anointed as king. These men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too much for me to bear!⁸ May the Lord punish appropriately the one who has done this evil thing!”⁹

2 Samuel 5:2

5:2 In the past, when Saul was our king, you were the real leader in Israel.¹⁰ The Lord said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel; you will rule over Israel.’”

2 Samuel 5:17

Conflict with the Philistines

5:17 When the Philistines heard that David had been designated¹¹ king over Israel, they all¹² went up to search for David. When David heard about it, he went down to the fortress.

2 Samuel 6:16

6:16 As the ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out the window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him.¹³

2 Samuel 7:2

7:2 The king said to Nathan the prophet, “Look! I am living in a palace made from cedar, while the ark of God sits in the middle of a tent.”

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,¹⁴ that you should have brought me to this point?

2 Samuel 9:2

9:2 Now there was a servant from Saul’s house named Ziba, so he was summoned to David. The king asked him, “Are you Ziba?” He replied, “At your service.”¹⁵

2 Samuel 9:9

9:9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s attendant, and said to him, “Everything that belonged to Saul and to his entire house I hereby give to your master’s grandson.

2 Samuel 10:5

10:5 Messengers¹⁶ told David what had happened,¹⁷ so he summoned them, for the men were thoroughly humiliated. The king said, “Stay in Jericho¹⁸ until your beards have grown again; then you may come back.”

2 Samuel 11:20

11:20 if the king becomes angry and asks you, ‘Why did you go so close to the city to fight? Didn’t you realize they would shoot from the wall?

2 Samuel 12:7

12:7 Nathan said to David, “You are that man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I chose¹⁹ you to be king over Israel and I rescued you from the hand of Saul.

2 Samuel 13:4

13:4 He asked Amnon,²⁰ “Why are you, the king’s son,²¹ so depressed every morning? Can’t you tell me?” So Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar the sister of my brother Absalom.”

2 Samuel 13:13

13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools²² in Israel! Just²³ speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

2 Samuel 13:18

13:18 (Now she was wearing a long robe,²⁴ for this is what the king’s virgin daughters used to wear.) So Amnon’s²⁵ attendant removed her and bolted the door²⁶ behind her.

2 Samuel 13:29

13:29 So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed. Then all the king’s sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

2 Samuel 14:16

14:16 Yes!²⁷ The king may²⁸ listen and deliver his female servant²⁹ from the hand of the man who seeks to remove³⁰ both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’³¹

2 Samuel 14:29

14:29 Then Absalom sent a message to Joab asking him to send him to the king, but Joab was not willing to come to him. So he sent a second message to him, but he still was not willing to come.

2 Samuel 15:18

15:18 All his servants were leaving with him,³² along with all the Kerethites, all the Pelethites, and all the Gittites – some six hundred men who had come on foot from Gath. They were leaving with³³ the king.

2 Samuel 15:23

15:23 All the land was weeping loudly³⁴ as all these people were leaving.³⁵ As the king was crossing over the Kidron Valley, all the people were leaving³⁶ on the road that leads to the desert.

2 Samuel 15:27

15:27 The king said to Zadok the priest, “Are you a seer?³⁷ Go back to the city in peace! Your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan may go with you and Abiathar.³⁸

2 Samuel 16:6

16:6 He threw stones at David and all of King David’s servants, as well as all the people and the soldiers who were on his right and on his left.

2 Samuel 16:10

16:10 But the king said, “What do we have in common,³⁹ you sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David!’, who can say to him, ‘Why have you done this?’”

2 Samuel 17:2

17:2 When I catch up with⁴⁰ him he will be exhausted and worn out.⁴¹ I will rout him, and the entire army that is with him will flee. I will kill only the king

2 Samuel 17:17

17:17 Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying in En Rogel. A female servant would go and inform them, and they would then go and inform King David. It was not advisable for them to be seen going into the city.

2 Samuel 17:21

17:21 After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan⁴² climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, “Get up and cross the stream⁴³ quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you.”⁴⁴

2 Samuel 18:20

18:20 But Joab said to him, “You will not be a bearer of good news today. You will bear good news some other day, but not today,⁴⁵ for the king’s son is dead.”

2 Samuel 18:26-27

18:26 Then the watchman saw another man running. The watchman called out to the gatekeeper, “There is another man running by himself.” The king said, “This one also is bringing good news.” 18:27 The watchman said, “It appears to me that the first runner is Ahimaaz⁴⁶ son of Zadok.” The king said, “He is a good man, and he comes with good news.”

2 Samuel 18:31

18:31 Then the Cushite arrived and said,⁴⁷ “May my lord the king now receive the good news! The Lord has vindicated you today and delivered you from the hand of all who have rebelled against you!”⁴⁸

2 Samuel 19:2

19:2 So the victory of that day was turned to mourning as far as all the people were concerned. For the people heard on that day, “The king is grieved over his son.”

2 Samuel 19:5

19:5 So Joab visited⁴⁹ 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.

2 Samuel 19:14

19:14 He⁵⁰ won over the hearts of all the men of Judah as though they were one man. Then they sent word to the king saying, “Return, you and all your servants as well.”

2 Samuel 19:17

19:17 There were a thousand men from Benjamin with him, along with Ziba the servant⁵¹ of Saul’s household, and with him his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They hurriedly crossed⁵² the Jordan within sight of the king.

2 Samuel 19:20

19:20 For I, your servant,⁵³ know that I sinned, and I have come today as the first of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.”

2 Samuel 19:22

19:22 But David said, “What do we have in common,⁵⁴ you sons of Zeruiah? You are like my enemy today! Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Don’t you realize that today I am king over Israel?”

2 Samuel 19:32

19:32 But Barzillai was very old – eighty years old, in fact – and he had taken care of the king when he stayed in Mahanaim, for he was a very rich⁵⁵ man.

2 Samuel 20:2

20:2 So all the men of Israel deserted⁵⁶ David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the men of Judah stuck by their king all the way from the Jordan River⁵⁷ to Jerusalem.⁵⁸

2 Samuel 21:5-7

21:5 They replied to the king, “As for this man who exterminated us and who schemed against us so that we were destroyed and left without status throughout all the borders of Israel – 21:6 let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute⁵⁹ them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord’s chosen one.”⁶⁰ The king replied, “I will turn them over.”

21:7 The king had mercy on Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, in light of the Lord’s oath that had been taken between David and Jonathan son of Saul.

2 Samuel 24:2

24:2 The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, “Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army.”

2 Samuel 24:9

24:9 Joab reported the number of warriors⁶¹ to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers.

2 Samuel 24:21-22

24:21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David replied, “To buy from you the threshing floor so I can build an altar for the Lord, so that the plague may be removed from the people.” 24:22 Araunah told David, “My lord the king may take whatever he wishes⁶² and offer it. Look! Here are oxen for burnt offerings, and threshing sledges⁶³ and harnesses⁶⁴ for wood.

¹tn Heb “house.”

²tn Heb “and they told David.” The subject appears to be indefinite, allowing one to translate the verb as passive with David as subject.

³tn Heb “men.”

⁴tn The Hebrew text does not have the word “son.” So also in vv. 3-5.

⁵tn Heb “wife.”

⁶tn Heb “Look, Abner.”

⁷tc The LXX adds “in peace.”

⁸tn Heb “are hard from me.”

⁹tn Heb “May the Lord repay the doer of the evil according to his evil” (NASB similar).

¹⁰tn Heb “you were the one leading out and the one leading in Israel.”

¹¹tn Heb “anointed.”

¹²tn Heb “all the Philistines.”

¹³tn The Hebrew text adds “in her heart.” Cf. CEV “she was disgusted (+ with him TEV)”; NLT “was filled with contempt for him”; NCV “she hated him.”

¹⁴tn Heb “house.”

¹⁵tn Heb “your servant.”

¹⁶tn Heb “they”; the referent (the messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷tn The words “what had happened” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁸map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁹tn Heb “anointed.”

²⁰tn Heb “and he said to him.”

²¹tn An more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”

²²tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

²³tn Heb “Now.”

²⁴tn The Hebrew expression used here (כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים, kÿtonet passim) is found only here and in Gen 37:3, 23, 32. Hebrew פַּס (pas) can refer to the palm of the hand or the sole of the foot; here the idea is probably that of a long robe reaching to the feet and having sleeves reaching to the wrists. The notion of a “coat of many colors” (KJV, ASV “garment of divers colors”), a familiar translation for the phrase in Genesis, is based primarily on the translation adopted in the LXX χιτῶνα ποικίλον (citona poikilion) and does not have a great deal of support.

²⁵tn Heb “his”; the referent (Amnon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶tn The Hebrew verb is a perfect with nonconsecutive vav, probably indicating an action (locking the door) that complements the preceding one (pushing her out the door).

²⁷tn Or “for.”

²⁸tn Or “will.” The imperfect verbal form can have either an indicative or modal nuance. The use of “perhaps” in v. 15b suggests the latter here.

²⁹tn Heb “in order to deliver his maid.”

³⁰tn Heb “destroy.”

³¹tn Heb “from the inheritance of God.” The expression refers to the property that was granted to her family line in the division of the land authorized by God.

³²tn Heb “crossing over near his hand.”

³³tn Heb “crossing over near the face of.”

³⁴tn Heb “with a great voice.”

³⁵tn Heb “crossing over.”

³⁶tn Heb “crossing near the face of.”

³⁷tn The Greek tradition understands the Hebrew word as an imperative (“see”). Most Greek mss have ἴδετε (idete); the Lucianic recension has βλέπε (blepe). It could just as well be taken as a question: “Don’t you see what is happening?” The present translation takes the word as a question, with the implication that Zadok is a priest and not a prophet (i.e., “seer”) and therefore unable to know what the future holds.

³⁸tn Heb “And Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan the son of Abiathar, two of your sons, with you.” The pronominal suffix on the last word is plural, referring to Zadok and Abiathar.

³⁹tn Heb “What to me and to you?”

⁴⁰tn Heb “and I will come upon him.”

⁴¹tn Heb “exhausted and slack of hands.”

⁴²tn Heb “they”; the referents (Ahimaaz and Jonathan) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴³tn Heb “the water.”

⁴⁴tn Heb “for thus Ahithophel has devised against you.” The expression “thus” is narrative shorthand, referring to the plan outlined by Ahithophel (see vv. 1-3). The men would surely have outlined the plan in as much detail as they had been given by the messenger.

⁴⁵tn Heb “but this day you will not bear good news.”

⁴⁶tn Heb “I am seeing the running of the first one like the running of Ahimaaz.”

⁴⁷tn Heb “And look, the Cushite came and the Cushite said.”

⁴⁸tn Heb “for the Lord has vindicated you today from the hand of all those rising against you.”

⁴⁹tn Heb “came to.”

⁵⁰tn The referent of “he” is not entirely clear: cf. NCV “David”; TEV “David’s words”; NRSV, NLT “Amasa.”

⁵¹tn Heb “youth.”

⁵²tn Heb “rushed into.”

⁵³tn The Hebrew text has simply “your servant.”

⁵⁴tn Heb “what to me and to you.”

⁵⁵tn Heb “great.”

⁵⁶tn Heb “went up from after.”

⁵⁷tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵⁸map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵⁹tn The exact nature of this execution is not altogether clear. The verb יָקַע (yaqa’) basically means “to dislocate” or “alienate.” In Gen 32:26 it is used of the dislocation of Jacob’s thigh. Figuratively it can refer to the removal of an individual from a group (e.g., Jer 6:8; Ezek 23:17) or to a type of punishment the specific identity of which is uncertain (e.g., here and Num 25:4); cf. NAB “dismember them”; NIV “to be killed and exposed.”

⁶⁰tc The LXX reads “at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord” (cf. 21:9). The present translation follows the MT, although a number of recent English translations follow the LXX reading here (e.g., NAB, NRSV, NLT).

⁶¹tn Heb “and Joab gave the number of the numbering of the people.”

⁶²tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”

⁶³sn Threshing sledges were heavy boards used in ancient times for loosening grain from husks. On the bottom sides of these boards sharp stones were embedded, and the boards were then dragged across the grain on a threshing floor by an ox or donkey.

⁶⁴tn Heb “the equipment of the oxen.”