Discovery Box2 Samuel 15:25 
Context15:25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back to the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s sight he will bring me back and enable me to see both it and his dwelling place again.
2 Samuel 15:34
Context15:34 But you will be able to counter the advice of Ahithophel if you go back to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king! Previously I was your father’s servant, and now I will be your servant.’
2 Samuel 17:9
Context17:9 At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, 1 whoever hears about it will say, ‘Absalom’s army has been slaughtered!’
2 Samuel 18:33
Context18:33 (19:1) 2 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, 3 Absalom! If only I could have died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!” 4
2 Samuel 19:6-7
Context19:6 You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don’t matter to you. I realize now 5 that if 6 Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, 7 it would be all right with you. 19:7 So get up now and go out and give some encouragement to 8 your servants. For I swear by the Lord that if you don’t go out there, not a single man will stay here with you tonight! This disaster will be worse for you than any disaster that has overtaken you from your youth right to the present time!”
1 tn Heb “that he falls on them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] at the first [encounter]; or “that some of them [i.e., Absalom’s troops] fall at the first [encounter].”
2 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.
3 tc One medieval Hebrew
4 tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.
5 tn Heb “today.”
6 tc The translation follows the Qere, 4QSama, and many medieval Hebrew
7 tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack “today.”
8 tn Heb “and speak to the heart of.”
