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30 He took the crown of their king[a] from his head—it was gold, weighed about seventy-five pounds,[b] and held a precious stone—and it was placed on David’s head. He also took from the city a great deal of plunder. 31 He removed[c] the people who were in it and made them labor with saws, iron picks, and iron axes, putting them to work[d] at the brick kiln. This was his policy[e] with all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Samuel 12:30 tn 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.”
  2. 2 Samuel 12:30 tn 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.
  3. 2 Samuel 12:31 tn Heb “brought out.”
  4. 2 Samuel 12:31 tnHeb “to pass through.”
  5. 2 Samuel 12:31 tn Heb “and so he would do.”