2 Samuel 6:20

6:20 When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house,¹ Michal, Saul’s daughter, came out to meet him.² She said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished³ himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants’ slave girls the way a vulgar fool⁴ might do!”

2 Samuel 10:3

10:3 the Ammonite officials said to their lord Hanun, “Do you really think David is trying to honor your father by sending these messengers to express his sympathy?⁵ No, David has sent his servants to you to get information about the city and spy on it so they can overthrow it!”⁶

2 Samuel 11:11

11:11 Uriah replied to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah reside in temporary shelters, and my lord Joab and my lord’s soldiers are camping in the open field. Should I go to my house to eat and drink and have marital relations⁷ with my wife? As surely as you are alive,⁸ I will not do this thing!”

2 Samuel 12:18

12:18 On the seventh day the child died. But the servants of David were afraid to inform him that the child had died, for they said, “While the child was still alive he would not listen to us⁹ when we spoke to him. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He will do himself harm!”¹⁰

2 Samuel 12:31

12:31 He removed¹¹ the people who were in it and made them do hard labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work at the brick kiln. This was his policy¹² with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.¹³

2 Samuel 14:15

14:15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful.¹⁴ But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant¹⁵ asks.

2 Samuel 18:3

18:3 But the soldiers replied,¹⁶ “You should not do this!¹⁷ For if we should have to make a rapid retreat, they won’t be too concerned about us.¹⁸ Even if half of us should die, they won’t be too concerned about us. But you¹⁹ are like ten thousand of us! So it is better if you remain in the city for support.”

2 Samuel 19:28

19:28 After all, there was no one in the entire house of my grandfather²⁰ who did not deserve death from my lord the king. But instead you allowed me to eat at your own table!²¹ What further claim do I have to ask²² the king for anything?”

2 Samuel 19:37

19:37 Let me²³ return so that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. But look, here is your servant Kimham. Let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him whatever seems appropriate to you.”

2 Samuel 21:4

21:4 The Gibeonites said to him, “We²⁴ have no claim to silver or gold from Saul or from his family,²⁵ nor would we be justified in putting to death anyone in Israel.” David asked,²⁶ “What then are you asking me to do for you?”

2 Samuel 23:10

23:10 he stood his ground²⁷ and fought the Philistines until his hand grew so tired that it²⁸ seemed stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory on that day. When the army returned to him, the only thing left to do was to plunder the corpses.

¹tn Heb “and David returned to bless his house.”

²tn Heb “David.” The name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³tn Heb “honored.”

⁴tn Heb “one of the foolish ones.”

⁵tn Heb “Is David honoring your father in your eyes when he sends to you ones consoling?”

⁶tn Heb “Is it not to explore the city and to spy on it and to overthrow it [that] David has sent his servants to you?”

⁷tn Heb “and lay.”

⁸tn Heb “as you live and as your soul lives.”

⁹tn Heb “to our voice.”

¹⁰tn Heb “he will do harm.” The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!

¹¹tn Heb “brought out.”

¹²tn Heb “and so he would do.”

¹³map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁴tc The LXX (ὄψεταί με, opsetai me) has misunderstood the Hebrew יֵרְאֻנִי (yerÿ’uni, Piel perfect, “they have made me fearful”), taking the verb to be a form of the verb רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”) rather than the verb יָרֵא (yare’, “to fear”). The fact that the Greek translators were working with an unvocalized Hebrew text (i.e., consonants only) made them very susceptible to this type of error.

¹⁵tn Here and in v. 16 the woman refers to herself as the king’s אָמָה (’amah), a term that refers to a higher level female servant toward whom the master might have some obligation. Like the other term, this word expresses her humility, but it also suggests that the king might have some obligation to treat her in accordance with the principles of justice.

¹⁶tn Heb “the people said.”

¹⁷tn Heb “march out.”

¹⁸tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

¹⁹tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (’atta, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (’atta, “now”).

²⁰tn Heb “father.”

²¹tn Heb “and you placed your servant among those who eat at your table.”

²²tn Heb “to cry out to.”

²³tn Heb “your servant.”

²⁴tc The translation follows the Qere and several medieval Hebrew mss in reading לָנוּ (lanu, “to us”) rather than the MT לִי (li, “to me”). But for a contrary opinion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 53, 350.

²⁵tn Heb “house.”

²⁶tn Heb “and he said”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷tn Heb “arose.”

²⁸tn Heb “his hand.”