2 Samuel 19 — Hebrew and Greek compared
Disparate in this chapter: MT 19:23
Each card keeps the independently rendered source readings above their shared comparison and reception notes. The badge records the source’s governing classification; disparate readings are marked in red. Each reading retains its original reference.
2 Samuel 19
The grieving father and Christ’s forbearance
Attributed typology: Augustine relates David’s grief for Absalom to Christ’s patient treatment of Judas [S3, §1]. This is a theological reading of grief, not an equivalence of every event.
19:1–9 | The lament, Joab’s rebuke, and the gate
Source 19:1 = common English 18:33; source 19:2–44 = common English 19:1–43.
Verse MT 19:1 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:1
The king trembled and went up to the upper chamber over the gate and wept. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:1
The king was shaken and went up to the upper chamber over the gate and wept. As he went, he said, “My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only my death had been granted instead of yours—I instead of you! Absalom, my son, my son!”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek repeats instead of you with an emphatic I. Both preserve all five occurrences of my son here. This verse is commonly English 18:33; the following publisher verses 19:2–44 correspond to English 19:1–43.
Saints: Augustine appeals directly to David’s lament for Absalom when describing a father’s continuing peace toward a hostile son, and compares it with Christ’s forbearance toward Judas [S3, §1].
Verse MT 19:2 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:2
Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:2
Joab was told, “The king is weeping and mourning over Absalom.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The report of grief agrees.
Verse MT 19:3 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:3
That day’s deliverance turned to mourning for all the people, because the people heard that day, “The king is grieving over his son.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:3
That day’s deliverance turned to mourning for all the people, because the people heard that day, “The king is grieving over his son.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both frame military deliverance as mourning through the king’s grief. The repeated that day is retained.
Verse MT 19:4 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:4
That day the people slipped into the city as people slip away in shame when they flee in battle.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:4
That day the people slipped into the city as people slip away in shame when they flee in battle.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The stealth and shame comparison agrees; it describes the victors’ reception rather than changing the battle’s outcome.
Verse MT 19:5 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:5
The king covered his face and cried aloud, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:5
The king hid his face and cried aloud, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son!”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has three instances of my son here, Greek two.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 19:1, citing Sotah 10b, interprets the eight Hebrew repetitions across verses 1 and 5 as David’s intercession for Absalom beyond death [R19]. This is attributed reception, not an added narrative event.
Verse MT 19:6 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:6
Joab came to the king in the house and said, “Today you have shamed all your servants, who saved your life today and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives, and concubines,
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:6
Joab came to the king in the house and said, “Today you have shamed all your servants, who rescued you today and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives, and concubines,
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Hebrew expressly says your life; Greek you. Both list the entire threatened royal household and continue Joab’s accusation into verse 7.
Verse MT 19:7 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:7
by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. Today you have declared that officers and servants mean nothing to you. I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us dead today, that would be right in your eyes.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:7
by loving those who hate you and hating those who love you. Today you have declared that your officers and servants do not exist. I know today that if Absalom were alive and all of us dead today, that would be right in your eyes.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew’s for-you expression is rendered mean nothing to you; Greek has the starker do not exist. Both preserve Joab’s accusation as speech, not a finding about David’s actual wishes. Hebrew follows the checked conditional reading [R19].
Verse MT 19:8 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:8
Now rise, go out, and speak to your servants’ hearts. I swear by YHWH: if you do not go out, not one man will stay with you tonight. This will be worse for you than all the calamity that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:8
Now rise, go out, and speak to your servants’ hearts. I swear by the Lord: if you do not go out today, not one man will stay with you tonight. Understand this for yourself: this will be worse for you than all the calamity that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds today to going out and the instruction to understand for oneself. Both preserve the oath and its threatened abandonment; speaking to the heart is encouragement in context.
Verse MT 19:9 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:9
The king rose and sat in the gate. All the people were told, “The king is sitting in the gate,” and all the people came before the king. Israel had fled, each to his tents.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:9
The king rose and sat in the gate. All the people announced, “The king is sitting in the gate,” and all the people came before the king. Israel had fled, each to his tents.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew makes all the people the recipients of the report; Greek its agents. The final flight clause recalls the opposing force’s dispersal rather than asserting that the assembled loyalists now fled.
The returning king and appeals for mercy
Editorial Christian reading beside Luke 6:27–38 [NT2]. Political restoration and mercy unfold amid continuing disputes.
19:10–16 | The tribes debate and Judah is summoned
Verse MT 19:10 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:10
All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel: “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and rescued us from the hand of the Philistines. Now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:10
All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel: “King David delivered us from all our enemies and rescued us from the hand of the foreigners. Now he has fled from the land and from his kingdom because of Absalom.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds David, all the enemies, and departure from his kingdom. Hebrew names the Philistines; Greek uses foreigners, the established rendering of allophyloi.
Verse MT 19:11 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:11
Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Why are you silent now about bringing the king back?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:11
Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Why are you silent now about bringing the king back?” The word of all Israel reached the king.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds the report reaching the king here and repeats it in verse 12; both occurrences are retained. Both acknowledge that the speakers had anointed Absalom.
Verse MT 19:12 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:12
King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Speak to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house? The word of all Israel has reached the king at his house.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:12
King David sent word to Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Speak to the elders of Judah: ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house? The word of all Israel has reached the king.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew repeats at his house at the end; Greek does not. Following Rashi on 19:12, the final report is provisionally kept within David’s message [R19]; alternate punctuation treats it as a narrator’s parenthesis.
Verse MT 19:13 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:13
You are my brothers, my bone and my flesh. Why should you be the last to bring the king back?’
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:13
You are my brothers, my bones and my flesh. Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house?’
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek repeats to his house and uses plural bones and flesh forms. The appeal to kinship agrees.
Verse MT 19:14 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:14
Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? May God do so to me, and more besides, if you are not commander of the army before me always in Joab’s place.’”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:14
Say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? Now may God do so to me, and more besides, if you are not commander of the army before me always in Joab’s place.’”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek adds now. Both preserve the oath replacing Joab with Amasa and leave the self-imprecation’s penalty unspecified.
Verse MT 19:15 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:15
He turned the heart of every man of Judah as one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:15
He turned the heart of every man of Judah as one man, and they sent word to the king: “Return, you and all your servants.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both leave the subject as he, most naturally David acting through the message. The one-man image describes their unified response.
Verse MT 19:16 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:16
The king returned and came as far as the Jordan. Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king across the Jordan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:16
The king returned and came as far as the Jordan. The men of Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring the king across the Jordan.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek spells out the men of Judah where Hebrew uses the collective Judah. The repeated king and Jordan agree.
19:17–24 | The crossing and Shimei’s plea
Verse MT 19:17 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:17
Shimei son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:17
Shimei son of Gera, son of the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried down with the men of Judah to meet King David,
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek’s genitive sequence attaches son of the Benjaminite to Gera; Hebrew designates Shimei as a Benjaminite. The location and purpose agree.
Verse MT 19:18 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:18
A thousand men from Benjamin were with him. Ziba, the servant of Saul’s house, was there with his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They made their way across the Jordan ahead of the king.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:18
with a thousand men from Benjamin beside him. Ziba, the servant of Saul’s house, was there, with his fifteen sons beside him and his twenty servants beside him. They made the Jordan ready before the king,
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: The counts agree. Hebrew’s crossing or breaking-through verb is contextually rendered made their way across; Greek has a making-straight verb, provisionally made ready. Neither is expanded into a described engineering operation.
Verse MT 19:19 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:19
The ferry crossed to bring the king’s household across and do what was good in his eyes. Shimei son of Gera fell before the king as he was crossing the Jordan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:19
and performed the service of bringing the king across. The ferry crossed to rouse the king’s household and do what was right in his eyes. Shimei son of Gera fell on his face before the king as he was crossing the Jordan.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds the service clause and on his face, and has rouse where Hebrew has bring across. Ferry is provisional for the crossing noun: Rashi understands a boat, while BDB favors a ford with a different construal [R19; D10]. The final he most naturally refers to the king, but is not replaced with an asserted proper name.
Verse MT 19:20 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:20
He said to the king, “Let my lord not count guilt against me. Do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem, so that the king takes it to heart.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:20
He said to the king, “Let my lord not reckon lawlessness. Do not remember your servant’s wrongs on the day my lord the king was leaving Jerusalem, so that the king takes them to heart.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Hebrew explicitly has against me; Greek does not. Guilt / lawlessness and singular / plural wrongdoing reflect the respective expressions. Both preserve the appeal not to retain the offense in the heart.
Verse MT 19:21 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:21
Your servant knows that I have sinned. See, I have come today, first of all the house of Joseph, to come down and meet my lord the king.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:21
Your servant knows that I have sinned. See, I have come today ahead of all the house of Joseph, to come down and meet my lord the king.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both preserve the change from courteous third-person your servant to first-person confession, and the house of Joseph designation without replacing it with Benjamin.
Verse MT 19:22 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:22
Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, “Should Shimei not be put to death for this, since he cursed YHWH’s anointed?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:22
Abishai son of Zeruiah answered, “Should Shimei not be put to death for this, since he cursed the Lord’s anointed?”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both present Abishai’s proposed execution. Anointed translates the royal title in context; Greek christos is not replaced here with the personal title Christ.
Verse MT 19:23 Disparate
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:23
David said, “What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should become an adversary to me today? Should anyone be put to death in Israel today? Do I not know that today I am king over Israel?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:23
David said, “What have I to do with you, sons of Zeruiah, that you should become a plotter against me today? No man of Israel will be put to death today, for I do not know whether I reign over Israel today.”
Classification & Notes
Disparate
Text: Hebrew affirms knowledge of kingship through a rhetorical question; the checked Greek has do not know whether, provisionally retained as uncertainty. The Greek sentence’s force needs specialist review rather than silent harmonization. Hebrew adversary is a common noun here, not the proper name Satan. Both reject an execution that day.
Verse MT 19:24 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:24
The king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” The king swore to him.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:24
The king said to Shimei, “You will certainly not die.” The king swore to him.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek makes the negative emphatic. Both record the promise and oath without adding conditions from a later book.
19:25–31 | Mephibosheth’s explanation and the divided estate
Verse MT 19:25 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:25
Mephibosheth son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had not tended his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:25
Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul came down to meet the king. He had not tended his feet, cut his nails, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king departed until the day he returned in peace.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly supplies Jonathan in the genealogy and adds nail cutting. Hebrew son is retained in its broader ancestral sense. Tended leaves the Hebrew grooming action general rather than imposing one specific procedure.
Verse MT 19:26 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:26
When he came to Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:26
When he entered Jerusalem to meet the king, the king said to him, “Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both checked texts place the meeting at Jerusalem; to is not changed to from to smooth the surrounding Jordan narrative.
Verse MT 19:27 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:27
He said, “My lord the king, my servant deceived me. Your servant had said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself, ride it, and go with the king,’ for your servant is lame.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:27
Mephibosheth said to him, “My lord the king, my servant deceived me. Your servant had said to him, ‘Saddle the donkey for me, so that I may ride it and go with the king,’ for your servant is lame.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew has a first-person intention to saddle; Greek an explicit command to the servant and names Mephibosheth again. Both report his account of deception without converting it into an omniscient narration of Ziba’s actions.
Verse MT 19:28 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:28
He slandered your servant to my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God; do what is good in your eyes.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:28
He schemed against your servant before my lord the king. But my lord the king is like an angel of God; do what is good in your eyes.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew specifies slander; Greek describes scheming or working against him. The angel comparison is the speaker’s appeal to royal discernment.
Verse MT 19:29 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:29
All my father’s house were nothing but men liable to death before my lord the king, yet you placed your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I to cry out again to the king?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:29
All my father’s house were nothing but men liable to death before my lord the king, yet you placed your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I to cry out again to the king?”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both preserve the death-liability idiom within Mephibosheth’s deferential speech. The translation does not add an account of a particular offense or judicial verdict against the entire family.
Verse MT 19:30 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:30
The king said to him, “Why speak any further about your affairs? I have said: you and Ziba shall divide the land.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:30
The king said to him, “Why speak any further about your affairs? I have said: you and Ziba shall divide the land.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both end the hearing with a division of the property. Neither explicitly explains the king’s assessment of the conflicting accounts or specifies the shares.
Verse MT 19:31 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:31
Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take it all, now that my lord the king has returned to his house in peace.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:31
Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him take it all, now that my lord the king has returned to his house in peace.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The relinquishment and concern for the king’s safe return agree.
Loyalty rewarded while division remains
Editorial Christian continuation of the return narrative. Hospitality and blessing do not resolve the conflict between Judah and Israel.
19:32–41 | Barzillai’s farewell and Chimham’s passage
Verse MT 19:32 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:32
Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and crossed the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:32
Barzillai the Gileadite came down from Rogelim and crossed the Jordan with the king to escort him over the Jordan.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both repeat the Jordan in an awkward escort clause. Hebrew follows the checked reading without the written preposition before the second Jordan [R19].
Verse MT 19:33 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:33
Barzillai was very old, eighty years of age. He had supported the king during his stay at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:33
Barzillai was a very old man, eighty years of age. He had supported the king during his stay at Mahanaim, for he was a very wealthy man.
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both specify eighty and the previous support. Wealthy contextually renders very great, as Rashi explains for Hebrew [R19], without inventing the size of his holdings.
Verse MT 19:34 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:34
The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will support you beside me in Jerusalem.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:34
The king said to Barzillai, “Cross over with me, and I will support your old age beside me in Jerusalem.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek expressly says your old age where Hebrew says you. Both offer continued support in Jerusalem.
Verse MT 19:35 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:35
Barzillai said to the king, “How many days remain in the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:35
Barzillai said to the king, “How many days remain in the years of my life, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem?
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Remain supplies the question’s contextual reference to his remaining lifespan. Neither text supplies a predicted number of years.
Verse MT 19:36 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:36
I am eighty years old today. Can I discern good from bad? Can your servant taste what I eat and drink? Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:36
I am eighty years old today. Can I discern good from bad? Can your servant still taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the voices of male and female singers? Why should your servant be a further burden to my lord the king?
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both preserve Barzillai’s questions about his own condition, including both groups of singers. The passage is not turned into a general judgment about all older people.
Verse MT 19:37 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:37
Your servant will cross the Jordan with the king only a little way. Why should the king repay me with this reward?
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:37
Your servant will cross the Jordan with the king only a little way. Why should the king repay me with this repayment?
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: The limited escort and questioned reward agree. Greek repeats the same repayment root; Hebrew uses related reward language.
Verse MT 19:38 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:38
Please let your servant return, so that I may die in my own city beside my father’s and mother’s grave. Here is your servant Chimham; let him cross with my lord the king. Do for him what is good in your eyes.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:38
Please let your servant remain, so that I may die in my own city beside my father’s and mother’s grave. Here is your servant Chimham; he will cross with my lord the king. Do for him what is good in your eyes.”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew asks to return; Greek to remain or settle. Both nominate Chimham without expressly identifying his kinship.
Rabbinic: Rashi on 19:38 identifies him as Barzillai’s son [R19].
Verse MT 19:39 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:39
The king said, “Chimham will cross with me, and I will do for him what is good in your eyes. Whatever you choose to ask of me, I will do for you.”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:39
The king said, “Let Chimham cross with me, and I will do for him what is good in your eyes. Whatever you choose to ask of me, I will do for you.”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Greek uses a permissive command, Hebrew a future statement. Both direct the promise’s final you to Barzillai.
Verse MT 19:40 Similar
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:40
All the people crossed the Jordan, and the king crossed. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned to his own place.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:40
All the people crossed the Jordan, and the king crossed. The king warmly kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and Barzillai returned to his own place.
Classification & Notes
Similar
Text: Greek intensifies the kissing verb. Barzillai’s name clarifies the final pronoun in both; no additional farewell speech is supplied.
Verse MT 19:41 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:41
The king crossed on to Gilgal, and Chimhan crossed with him. All the people of Judah brought the king across, and also half the people of Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:41
The king crossed on to Gilgal, and Chimham crossed with him. All the people of Judah crossed with the king, and also half the people of Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Hebrew here writes Chimhan with final n, retained beside the preceding Chimham; Greek keeps its previous form. Hebrew makes the people bring the king across, Greek cross with him. Both expressly include half of Israel’s people.
19:42–44 | Judah and Israel dispute their shares
Verse MT 19:42 Same
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:42
All the men of Israel came to the king and said, “Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household across the Jordan, with all David’s men beside him?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:42
All the men of Israel came to the king and said, “Why have our brothers, the men of Judah, stolen you away and brought the king and his household across the Jordan, with all David’s men beside him?”
Classification & Notes
Same
Text: Both retain the accusation of stealing the king and the shift from direct address to the third person.
Verse MT 19:43 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:43
All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “The king is our close kin. Why are you angry about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense, or has anything been carried to us?”
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:43
All the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “The king is close to us. Why are you so angry about this? Have we eaten at the king’s expense? Has he given us a gift, or carried a contribution to us?”
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek explicitly adds a gift and retains a carrying expression, provisionally contribution; Hebrew’s received-gift expression is also compressed. Close kin makes Hebrew’s familial sense explicit in context. Both deny material advantage.
Verse MT 19:44 Different
Hebrew–English: Literal-Smooth (Rabbinic Priority)
MT 19:44
The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and a greater claim on David than you. Why have you slighted us? Was not our proposal the first to bring back our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
Greek–English: Literal-Smooth (Saints Priority)
LXX 19:44
The men of Israel answered the men of Judah, “We have ten shares in the king, and we are firstborn compared with you. We also have a greater claim on David than you. Why have you insulted us? Was our proposal not considered first for bringing the king back to us?” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
Classification & Notes
Different
Text: Greek adds the firstborn claim, strengthening the priority argument. Ten shares renders the shared ten-hands idiom. Hebrew’s greater claim supplies its comparison’s ellipsis; Greek is more explicit. The collective singular speeches are rendered with plural we and you throughout verses 43–44.