2 Samuel 12:30-31

12:30 He took the crown of their king 1  from his head – it was gold, weighed about seventy-five pounds, 2  and held a precious stone – and it was placed on David’s head. He also took from the city a great deal of plunder. 12:31 He removed 3  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 policy 4  with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem. 5 

1 tn Part of the Greek tradition wrongly understands Hebrew מַלְכָּם (malkam, “their king”) as a proper name (“Milcom”). Some English versions follow the Greek here, rendering the phrase “the crown of Milcom” (so NRSV; cf. also NAB, CEV). TEV takes this as a reference not to the Ammonite king but to “the idol of the Ammonite god Molech.”

2 tn Heb “and its weight [was] a talent of gold.” The weight of this ornamental crown was approximately 75 lbs (34 kg). See P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 313.

3 tn Heb “brought out.”

4 tn Heb “and so he would do.”

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