On the seventh day: this can mean either on the seventh day of the life of the child or on the seventh day of his illness. Since the latter is much more likely, it is probably best to translate “seven days later” or “after seven days of sickness.”

Servants of David: that is, the officials of King David’s court mentioned in the previous verse.

Behold: see the comments on verse 11 above.

The question how then can we say to him the child is dead? is not intended to give the idea that these officials were looking for the proper words to use to inform the king of the death of his son. Rather they were saying, in effect, “We cannot tell him that the child is dead!”

Do himself some harm: literally “do evil” (so Fox), but the reference is obviously to doing evil to himself. This final sentence in verse 18 may be rendered in some languages as “He may do something bad to himself if we tell him that the child is dead” or “If we tell him that his son has died, he may injure himself.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

But: the Hebrew conjunction is rendered by nothing more than a new paragraph break in Good News Translation. However, since what happens is somewhat unexpected, a conjunction like But may be appropriate—especially if no new paragraph is made at this point.

The words his servants, referring to David’s officials, may be replaced by pronouns in this context. Compare Good News Translation.

Whispering together: the idea of whispering may have to be translated in some languages as “speaking in a low voice” or “talking so that others could not hear.”

Perceived: the verb used here means “made a mental judgment” or “realized” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). It will have to be translated in some languages as “knew” (Contemporary English Version), “understood,” or “decided.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Then: once again the Hebrew conjunction is translated by a paragraph break in Good News Translation. This will be a legitimate way of handling it in certain other languages as well.

Arose from the earth: the word rendered earth here translates the same word as “ground” in verses 16 and 17 and should probably be translated in the same way here.

Washed: that is, he washed himself. Some languages have different verbs for washing one’s own body and washing something else. Here it is clear that the special term for “bathed” or “washed the body” should be used.

Anointed himself: anointing has special meanings in other contexts, but when the verb “anoint” is used in the Old Testament of something that a person does to himself or herself, the idea is that of grooming oneself or making oneself presentable to others (see Pro 27.9; Eccl 9.8). Compare Ruth 3.3, where Good News Translation translates “put on some perfume.” And note that New International Version translates here “put on lotions.” The Good News Translation translation “combed his hair” fails to preserve the sense of “perfuming” oneself and is therefore not recommended as a model. Compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, all of which say “he put on perfume.”

This kind of action was the opposite of what David had done before the death of his child. Later in 2 Samuel (14.2) it is specifically stated that mourners were not supposed to anoint themselves. David’s actions were therefore contrary to what the people of his day expected.

Changed his clothes: compare Gen 41.14, where Joseph changes his clothes before going to meet the Egyptian king.

The house of the LORD: this expression is normally used only of the Temple, which had not yet been built in Jerusalem at the time of David. However, it is found in 1 Sam 1.7, 24, and a few other cases where it is thought to refer to the tent in which the Covenant Box was kept (see 6.17, where it is said that the ark was placed in the tent). Contemporary English Version rightly takes it as a reference to the tabernacle and makes this clear in translation, “the LORD’s tent.”

Worshiped: more literally “bowed down” or “prostrated himself” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In some languages there is no specific word for this action. Rather, the idea has to be communicated with a grammatical object as “prayed to God” or “bend down before God [in prayer].”

He then went to his own house: since David was in the palace at the beginning of this verse, the words went to his own house have to mean “went back to the palace” or “returned home.”

Set food before him: that is, they served him so that he could eat after his fast.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Then: the conjunction here need not be translated if the verse sounds natural without it.

His servants: as in verse 19, this refers to the court officials of David.

What is this thing that you have done? This is a way of expressing their surprise at the behavior of their king, since it was opposed to the normal practice for the people of Israel. In some languages it will be more natural to say “We do not understand what you are doing!” or “Why are you acting like this?”

The remainder of the verse is a summary of what has already been said in the text, but with past tense verbs in this context. Translators should try to make the words used here correspond to those found in the rest of the story.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Said: this verb may be more naturally translated “answered” in many languages.

For I said: this introduces a quotation within a quotation and is further complicated by the fact that this second quotation reflects what David said to himself. It is therefore quite appropriate to translate as Good News Translation has done, using the verb “thought” and transforming the internal quotation into an indirect one. An additional complicating factor is the fact that David’s inner reflection is presented as a question in Revised Standard Version. But in certain languages this may be transformed into a statement introduced by the verb “wondered” or something similar. New Jerusalem Bible has “I kept thinking,” and the same verb is also used by New American Bible and Revised English Bible.

Be gracious: the Hebrew word behind this translation is not exactly the same as the adjective “gracious” used in Ruth 2.13, but the words are related and the idea is very similar. New Jerusalem Bible has “will take pity on me” (similarly also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). But in some languages it may be necessary to say more directly “will forgive my wrong doing” or “show favor.”

That the child may live: many languages may prefer to state this negatively as in Good News Translation, saying “that the child may not die” or something similar.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

But now: this marks a clear contrast between what David had wished would happen and what actually happened. Contrary to his hope the child had died.

The two questions in this verse are not asked in order to find information. Rather they are strong assertions. They can possibly be rendered in some languages as affirmations. The words why should I fast? may be better rendered in some languages by a statement like “there is no longer any reason for me to fast.” Can I bring him back again? may be expressed as “I cannot possibly make the baby live again.” If the rhetorical question is retained, some other ways of saying this are “Can I cause him to live again?” or “Can I do anything to make him come back to life?”

I shall go to him: the ancient Israelite notion was that everyone who died went to Sheol, the place of the dead (see the comments on 1 Sam 2.6, and compare also 2 Sam 22.6). David almost certainly had this concept in mind when he asked this question. He realized that sooner or later he would also die and go to the place of the dead, thus joining his son. Some may prefer to translate “I will follow him in death” or “I shall go someday to the place of the dead where he is now.”

He will not return to me: the negative future tense is intended to indicate the impossibility of the child’s returning to life and reinforces what has already been said. In many languages this will be more naturally expressed as “he cannot come back to me.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Sent a message: the subject of this verb is still “the LORD” mentioned in the previous verse. Nathan, who had been the bearer of bad news to David earlier, now comes with good news.

He called his name: it is not clear to whom he refers. It can be the LORD, or Nathan (New Jerusalem Bible, Maredsous, Nueva Biblia Española, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), or possibly even David (so Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Many versions are quite vague, but the preferred solution seems to be to use an ambiguous form like the passive, “that he should be given the name” (Revised English Bible) or “he was named” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In some languages this will mean using an indefinite form such as “they will call his name.”

Jedidiah: the meaning of this name in Hebrew is “Loved by the LORD.” This information may have to be given to readers in a footnote if they are to understand fully the relationship between the name and the fact that God loved the newborn child. Instead of using a footnote, translators may choose to place the meaning of the name within the text itself, as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“who gave him the name Jedidiah, which means ‘Loved by the LORD’ ”) or inParola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente (“to give him the name Jedidiah—which means ‘Loved by the LORD’— …”). The same solution is in Bible en français courant. Fox provides another model for making the relationship clear between the name and the explanation of the name: “he called his name Yedidya/Beloved of YHWH.”

Because of the LORD: these words are interpreted in a variety of ways. Some scholars think it means that it is “on account of the LORD” that the child is to be called Jedidiah. New Jerusalem Bible thus translates this part of the verse “as Yahweh had instructed”; and Nueva Biblia Española says “by order of the LORD.” Others, however, think it means that the child will be called Jedidiah “because the LORD loves him” (see Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Another way to state the problem is that the words because of the LORD either tell that the name was given because God wanted the child to have this name (so New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Biblia Española,Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), or they tell why that particular name was given (because the LORD loved the child, so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje).

Some may prefer to follow the structure of Contemporary English Version, saying “… sent Nathan the prophet to tell David, ‘The LORD will call him Jedidiah.’ ” Moffatt presents the following model, which has the same essential meaning: “As the Eternal loved him, he sent a message by the prophet Nathan, and, by order of the Eternal, the child was called Jedidiah, or ‘Loved by the Eternal.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Moreover: the coordinating word here is stronger than the common Hebrew conjunction so often used. It has the idea of “furthermore” or “and in fact.” But in some languages it may have to be rendered by a simple conjunction.

The city of waters: as indicated in the comments on the previous verse, this appears to be another way of referring to the same place that is called “the royal city” at that point. This meant that Joab’s army was in control of the water supply to the city and of the fortress that guarded it. As noted on verse 26, Anchor Bible argues that “the royal city” and the city of waters refer to the same location, that is, to a citadel within the city of Rabbah that was the king’s residence and was also a fortress that guarded the water supply, which was from the springs of the Jabbok River.

Many interpreters, however, understand the two terms to refer to different places within Rabbah. The “royal city” may refer to the citadel on the top of the hill where the king lived. The city of waters may refer to a fortification lower down the hill that guarded the water supply. This understanding is the basis for the translation in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, “the residence of the king” (verse 26) and “the lower part of the city of Rabbah” (verse 27). See also the note in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, “This expression [the city of waters] probably designates the lower city (near the river), distinguished from the upper city, better fortified.”

The message sent by Joab need not be in the form of a direct quotation as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation (and most other versions). If it is more natural to make it indirect in the receptor language, this should be done. A possible model is:

• Joab sent messengers to King David to tell him that he had been fighting against the city of Rabbah and that he had already captured the strategic water supply.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .