1 tc A few medieval Hebrew mss, the LXX, and the Syriac Peshitta add "the prophet." The words are included in a few modern English version (e.g., TEV, CEV, NLT).

2tn Heb "him"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

3tn Heb "he"; the referent (Nathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

4tn The Hebrew text repeats "to him."

5tn Heb "his sons."

6tn The three Hebrew imperfect verbal forms in this sentence have a customary nuance; they describe past actions that were repeated or typical.

7tn Heb "from his morsel."

8tn Heb "and on his chest [or perhaps, "lap"] it would lay."

9tn Heb "came to the rich man." In the translation "arrived at the rich man's home" has been used for stylistic reasons.

10tn Heb "and he refused to take from his flock and from his herd to prepare [a meal] for."

11tn Heb "who had come to him" (also a second time later in this verse). The word "visit" has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarity.

12tn Heb "and prepared."

13tn Heb "the man doing this [is] a son of death." See 1 Sam 20:31 for another use of this expression, which must mean "he is as good as dead" or "he deserves to die," as 1 Sam 20:32 makes clear.

14tc With the exception of the Lucianic recension, the Old Greek translation has here "sevenfold" rather than "fourfold," a reading that S. R. Driver thought probably to be the original reading (S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 291). However, Exod 22:1 [21:37 HT] specifies fourfold repayment for a stolen sheep, which is consistent with 2 Sam 12:6. Some mss of the Targum and the Syriac Peshitta exaggerate the idea to "fortyfold."

tn Heb "the lamb he must repay fourfold because he did this thing and because he did not have compassion."

15tn Heb "anointed."

16tn Heb "and the wives of your lord into your chest [or "lap"]." The words "I put" are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

17tc So the Qere; the Kethib has "his."

18tn Heb "to you for a wife." This expression also occurs at the end of v. 10.

19tn Heb "raise up against you disaster."

20tn Heb "house" (so NAB, NRSV); NCV, TEV, CEV "family."

21tn Or "friend."

22tn Heb "will lie with" (so NIV, NRSV); TEV "will have intercourse with"; CEV, NLT "will go to bed with."

23tn Heb "in the eyes of this sun."

24tn Heb "and before the sun."

25tn Heb "removed."

26tc The MT has here "because you have caused the enemies of the Lord to treat the Lord with such contempt." This is one of the so-called tiqqune sopherim, or "emendations of the scribes." According to this ancient tradition, the scribes changed the text in order to soften somewhat the negative light in which David was presented. If that is the case, the MT reflects the altered text. The present translation departs from the MT here. Elsewhere the Piel stem of this verb means "treat with contempt," but never "cause someone to treat with contempt."

27tn Heb "and the Lord struck the child…and he was ill." It is necessary to repeat "the child" in the translation to make clear who became ill, since "the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife had borne to David, and he became very ill" could be understood to mean that David himself became ill.

28tn Heb "sought" or "searched for."

29tn Heb "and David fasted."

30tn The three Hebrew verbs that follow in this verse are perfects with prefixed vav. They may describe repeated past actions or actions which accompanied David's praying and fasting.

31tn Heb "to our voice."

32tn Heb "he will do harm." The object is not stated in the Hebrew text. The statement may be intentionally vague, meaning that he might harm himself or them!

33tn Heb "David." The name has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun ("he") for stylistic reasons.

34tc For the MT בַּעֲבוּר (ba'avur, "for the sake of") we should probably read בְּעוֹד (b˙'od, "while"). See the Lucianic Greek recension, the Syriac Peshitta, and the Targum.

35tn Heb "said."

36tn Heb "Who knows?"

37tn Heb "and he lay with her."

38tn Heb "he"; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While some translations render the pronoun as third person plural ("they"), implying that both David and Bathsheba together named the child, it is likely that the name "Solomon," which is related to the Hebrew word for "peace" (and may be derived from it) had special significance for David, who would have regarded the birth of a second child to Bathsheba as a confirming sign that God had forgiven his sin and was at peace with him.

39tn Heb "him," referring to the child.

40sn The name Jedidiah means "loved by the Lord."

41sn Here the narrative resumes the battle story that began in 11:1 (see 11:25). The author has interrupted that story to give the related account of David's sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. He now returns to the earlier story and brings it to a conclusion.

42sn The expression translated the water supply of the city (Heb "the city of the waters") apparently refers to that part of the fortified city that guarded the water supply of the entire city. Joab had already captured this part of the city, but he now defers to King David for the capture of the rest of the city. In this way the king will receive the credit for this achievement.

43tn Heb "people." So also in vv. 29, 31.

44tn 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."

45tn 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.

46tn Heb "brought out."

47tn Heb "and so he would do."

48map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.