2 Samuel — Hebrew and Greek compared
Choose a chapter to explore the source readings and their notes. Original references, source labels, and review records are retained.
Source guide and review record
SAINTS TRANSLATION
The Second Book of Samuel
Chapters 1–24 / Greek: 2 Reigns
Independent literal-smooth translations
from the Hebrew and Greek texts
Christ-centered reading headings • Verse-by-verse classifications
Jewish and Christian reception • Sources and translation decisions
V2 | 11 September 2026
Complete working translation draft
695 Hebrew source verses • 696 Greek source units • 696 comparison rows
Reviewed under the final Bible Translation Reference Document updated 11 September 2026. All twenty-four Hebrew and Greek chapters were checked throughout against the declared publisher running texts. Consequential unresolved readings remain identified in their notes.
“Rabbinic Priority” and “Saints Priority” identify the reception traditions consulted. Each translation remains governed by its own selected ancient source.
Reader’s guide
Read horizontally to compare the sources, or down one English column to follow its narrative. Visible MT and LXX references identify the actual source numbering. The Greek-only list at 5:16a receives an editorial Hebrew absence notice; it is never reconstructed biblical wording.
English was drafted independently from the declared Hebrew and Greek. Ordinary syntax is smoothed while meaningful subjects, negatives, repetitions, names, numbers, objects, ritual terms, and changes of speaker remain visible. Attributed reception follows the textual comparison in the third column.
Source basis and extent of review
Column | Declared running text | Review scope |
|---|---|---|
Hebrew–English | BHS, fifth corrected edition, 1997; publisher web presentation [H]. | All 24 chapters. Selected written/read checks are identified by Q- and R-codes in the notes. |
Greek–English | Rahlfs–Hanhart, second revised edition, 2006; publisher web presentation [G]. | All 24 chapters of 2 Reigns. No full apparatus or alternate Greek recension collation claimed. |
This volume uses no substitute chapter. Both publisher running texts were reviewed throughout. NETS was an indirect comparison reported in V1 and could not be reopened in this review. Whole-book review is distinct from independent specialist approval or full critical-apparatus collation.
The five comparison categories
Category | Governing criterion |
|---|---|
Same | Corresponding meaning and content, allowing ordinary differences between languages. |
Similar | The essentials agree; a modest difference of expression, idiom, or emphasis is worth noting. |
Different | A meaningful difference of detail, name, number, action, participant, or image. |
Divergent | Added, absent, or substantially rearranged material governs the comparison. |
Disparate | A major difference in meaning or consequence, including agency, ritual outcome, or narrative force. Strict contradiction is not required. |
Each row has one governing category. Counts describe aligned rows, not unique variants, manuscript histories, or the worth of either religious tradition. Conventional YHWH / Lord wording alone does not require Similar.
Headings and liturgical reading map
Book headings are dark. Chapter headings are red under the project’s Blood of Jesus convention; major pericopes are purple under its Majesty of Jesus convention. Bold minor headings divide complete reading units. These are native Word heading styles.
A published selection is identified only where its exact range and occasion were verified. Full verses and surrounding narrative remain in the translation even where a lectionary selects clauses. Other headings are explicitly editorial Christian readings, attributed typology, or canonical thematic comparisons.
Code | 2 Samuel selection | Verified occasion and Gospel |
|---|---|---|
L1 | 5:1–3 | Christ the King, Year C, 24 November 2019; Lectionary 162. Gospel Luke 23:35–43. |
L2 | 7:1–5, 8b–12, 14a, 16 | Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B, 20 December 2020; Lectionary 11. Gospel Luke 1:26–38. |
These particular USCCB instances establish a selective Roman reading map. Exact selections and Gospel ranges were verified from the full official dated pages in this review. No comprehensive lectionary survey is claimed.
How reception is presented
Text explains the relationship between the chosen readings. Rabbinic identifies a specific Jewish interpretation. Saints identifies apostolic or named Christian reception. Explicit Gospel reuse, later typology, and editorial thematic connections are distinguished. Sources are cited by code and passage; no entry claims consensus for an entire tradition.
The broad Christian frame is Acts 13:20–23, which moves from Samuel through Saul and David to Jesus. This does not turn every narrative event into an allegory. Later interpretation never supplies missing Hebrew or Greek clauses.
Book navigation
Chapter | Reading | Page | Chapter | Reading | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The deaths and David’s lament | 13 | Tamar, Amnon, and Absalom | ||
2 | Hebron, rivalry, and battle | 14 | Absalom’s return | ||
3 | Abner’s covenant and death | 15 | The conspiracy and David’s flight | ||
4 | The murder of Saul’s son | 16 | Ziba, Shimei, and the counsel | ||
5 | David anointed; Jerusalem | 17 | Counsels, messengers, and provision | ||
6 | The ark and David’s worship | 18 | Absalom’s death and the runners | ||
7 | The promised house and throne | 19 | Grief and the king’s return | ||
8 | Victories and administration | 20 | Sheba’s rebellion | ||
9 | Mephibosheth at the table | 21 | Famine, burial, and warriors | ||
10 | The war with Ammon and Aram | 22 | David’s song of deliverance | ||
11 | Bathsheba and Uriah | 23 | Last words and mighty men | ||
12 | Nathan, repentance, and Rabbah | 24 | The census, plague, and altar |
Numbering in brief
This volume follows the publisher’s source numbering. Source 19:1 is commonly English 18:33; source 19:2–44 corresponds to common English 19:1–43. Elsewhere the ordinary chapter-and-verse sequence applies, with the additional Greek list 5:16a.