¹ tn On the use of אִם (’im, “if”) here, see HALOT 60 s.v.

² tn Heb “and act from [i.e., so as to prevent] harm so that I might not be in pain.”

³ tn Heb “and God brought about what he had asked.”

⁴ tn The words “from Egypt” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

⁵ tc Heb “and I was from tent to tent and from tabernacle.” The words אֶל־מִשְּׁכָּן (’el-mishÿkan, “to tabernacle”) should probably be added at the end of the sentence to complete this prepositional phrase and produce symmetry with the preceding prepositional phrase. The words probably fell from the text by homoioteleuton.

sn I have lived in a tent that has been in various places. The point here is that the Lord moved with the tabernacle as it moved from place to place; he did not confine himself to a particular location.

⁶ tn Heb “and this was small in your eyes, O God, so you spoke concerning the house of your servant for a distance.”

⁷ tn The translation “You have revealed to me what men long to know” is very tentative; the meaning of the Hebrew text is unclear. The text appears to read literally, “and you see me like the searching of man, that which is upward,” which is nonsensical. The translation above assumes the following: (1) The Qal verb translated “you see me” is repointed as a Hiphil, “you showed me,” (2) תּוֹר (tor) is understood in the sense of “searching, exploring,” and (3) הַמַּעֲלָה (hamma’alah) is taken in a temporal sense of “that which lies beyond.” Thus one could translate, “you have shown me what men search for, what lies beyond.”

⁸ tn Or “people.”

⁹ tn Heb “Why should it become guilt for Israel?” David’s decision betrays an underlying trust in his own strength rather than in divine provision. See also 1 Chr 27:23-24.

¹⁰ tn Heb “No, for buying I will buy for full silver.” The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

¹¹ tc The parallel text in 2 Sam 24:24 has the plural “burnt sacrifices.”

¹² tn Or “without [paying] compensation.”

¹³ tn Heb “a young man and tender.”