17:23 When Ahithophel realized that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and returned to his house in his hometown. After setting his household in order, he hanged himself. So he died and was buried in the grave 3 of his father.
18:33 (19:1) 4 The king then became very upset. He went up to the upper room over the gate and wept. As he went he said, “My son, Absalom! My son, my son, 5 Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” 6
20:3 Then David went to his palace 7 in Jerusalem. The king took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace and placed them under confinement. 8 Though he provided for their needs, he did not have sexual relations with them. 9 They remained in confinement until the day they died, living out the rest of their lives as widows.
1 tn Heb “and he measured [with] two [lengths] of rope to put to death and [with] the fullness of the rope to keep alive.”
2 tn Heb “and the Moabites were servants of David, carriers of tribute.”
3 tc The Greek recensions of Origen and Lucian have here “house” for “grave.”
4 sn This marks the beginning of ch. 19 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 18:33, the verse numbers through 19:43 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 18:33 ET = 19:1 HT, 19:1 ET = 19:2 HT, 19:2 ET = 19:3 HT, etc., through 19:43 ET = 19:44 HT. From 20:1 the versification in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible is again the same.
5 tc One medieval Hebrew
6 tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.
7 tn Heb “house.”
8 tn Heb “and he placed them in a guarded house.”
9 tn Heb “he did not come to them”; NAB “has no further relations with them”; NIV “did not lie with them”; TEV “did not have intercourse with them”; NLT “would no longer sleep with them.”