1tn Heb “the people said.”

2tn Heb “march out.”

3tn Heb “they will not place to us heart.”

4tc The translation follows the LXX (except for the Lucianic recension), Symmachus, and Vulgate in reading אָתָּה (’atta, “you”) rather than MT עָתָּה (’atta, “now”).

5tn Heb “servants” (also in v. 9).

6tn Heb “the.”

7tn Heb “the donkey.”

8tn Heb “between the sky and the ground.”

9tc 4QSama lacks the word “one.”

10tn Heb “Why did you not strike him down there to the ground.”

11tn Heb “ten [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 4 ounces (114 grams) of silver by weight.

12tn Heb “and a girdle” (so KJV); NIV “a warrior’s belt”; CEV “a special belt”; NLT “a hero’s belt.”

13tc The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וְלוּ (v˙lu, “and if”) rather than MT וְלֹא (v˙lo’, “and not”).

14tn Heb “weighing out in my hand.”

15tn Heb “a thousand [shekels] of silver.” This would have been about 25 pounds (11.4 kg) of silver by weight.

16tn Heb “extend my hand against.”

17tn Heb “in our ears.”

18tc The Hebrew text is very difficult here. The MT reads מִי (mi, “who”), apparently yielding the following sense: “Show care, whoever you might be, for the youth Absalom.” The Syriac Peshitta reads li (“for me”), the Hebrew counterpart of which may also lie behind the LXX rendering μοι (moi, “for me”). This reading seems preferable here, since it restores sense to the passage and most easily explains the rise of the variant.

19tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and a number of the ancient versions in reading בְנַפְשִׁי (v˙nafshi, “against my life”) rather than the MT בְנַפְשׁוֹ (v˙nafsho, “against his life”).

20tn Heb “stood aloof.”

21tn There is a play on the word “heart” here that is difficult to reproduce in English. Literally the Hebrew text says “he took three spears in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the heart of the oak tree.” This figure of speech involves the use of the same word in different senses and is known as antanaclasis. It is illustrated in the familiar saying from the time of the American Revolution: “If we don’t hang together, we will all hang separately.” The present translation understands “heart” to be used somewhat figuratively for “chest” (cf. TEV, CEV), which explains why Joab’s armor bearers could still “kill” Absalom after he had been stabbed with three spears through the “heart.” Since trees do not have “chests” either, the translation uses “middle.”

22tn Heb “the shophar” (the ram’s horn trumpet).

23tn Heb “and all Israel fled, each to his tent.” In this context this refers to the supporters of Absalom (see vv. 6-7, 16).

24tn Heb “and.” This disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) describes an occurrence that preceded the events just narrated.

25tn Heb “a pillar.”

26tn Heb “that the Lord has vindicated him from the hand of his enemies.”

27tn Heb “but this day you will not bear good news.”

28tn The words “but he said” are not in the Hebrew text. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

29tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

30tn Heb “the two gates.”

31tn Heb “good news is in his mouth.”

32tn Heb “he”; the referent (the runner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

33tn Heb “I am seeing the running of the first one like the running of Ahimaaz.”

34tn Heb “Peace.”

35tn Heb “delivered over.”

36tn Heb “lifted their hand against.”

37tn Heb “And look, the Cushite came and the Cushite said.”

38tn Heb “for the Lord has vindicated you today from the hand of all those rising against you.”

39tn Heb “and all those rising against you for evil.”

40sn 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.

41tc One medieval Hebrew ms, some mss of the LXX, and the Vulgate lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.

42tc The Lucianic Greek recension and Syriac Peshitta lack this repeated occurrence of “my son” due to haplography.