2 Samuel 9:11

9:11 Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do everything that my lord the king has instructed his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth was a regular guest ¹  at David’s table, ²  just as though he were one of the king’s sons.

2 Samuel 11:21

11:21 Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerub-Besheth? Didn’t a woman throw an upper millstone ³  down on him from the wall so that he died in Thebez? Why did you go so close to the wall?’ just say to him, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.’”

2 Samuel 12:3

12:3 But the poor man had nothing except for a little lamb he had acquired. He raised it, and it grew up alongside him and his children. ⁴  It used to ⁵  eat his food, ⁶  drink from his cup, and sleep in his arms. ⁷  It was just like a daughter to him.

2 Samuel 15:20

15:20 It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men ⁸  with you. May genuine loyal love ⁹  protect ¹⁰  you!”

2 Samuel 20:21

20:21 That’s not the way things are. There is a man from the hill country of Ephraim named Sheba son of Bicri. He has rebelled ¹¹  against King David. Give me just this one man, and I will leave the city.” The woman said to Joab, “This very minute ¹²  his head will be thrown over the wall to you!”

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¹ tn Heb “eating.”

² tc Heb “my table.” But the first person reference to David is awkward here since the quotation of David’s words has already been concluded in v. 10; nor does the “my” refer to Ziba, since the latter part of v. 11 does not seem to be part of Ziba’s response to the king. The ancient versions are not unanimous in the way that they render the phrase. The LXX has “the table of David” (τῆς τραπέζης Δαυιδ, th" trapezh" Dauid); the Syriac Peshitta has “the table of the king” (patureh demalka’); the Vulgate has “your table” (mensam tuam). The present translation follows the LXX.

³ sn The upper millstone (Heb “millstone of riding”) refers to the heavy circular stone that was commonly rolled over a circular base in order to crush and grind such things as olives.

⁴ tn Heb “his sons.”

⁵ tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

⁶ tn Heb “from his morsel.”

⁷ tn Heb “and on his chest [or perhaps, “lap”] it would lay.”

⁸ tn Heb “brothers,” but see v. 22.

⁹ tn Heb “loyal love and truth.” The expression is a hendiadys.

¹⁰ tn Heb “be with.”

¹¹ tn Heb “lifted his hand.”

¹² tn Heb “Look!”