The pronoun we would clearly not include Goliath if he were killed by his opponent. So in some languages it may be more appropriate to say “the rest of us” or “my fellow Philistines [will be your servants].”

Servants: in this context the Hebrew word is more accurately translated “slaves.”

Prevail against: translates the same verb as is able at the beginning of this verse. Good News Translation reflects this correspondence by using the verb “win” in both cases. New American Bible similarly has “if he beats me” and “if I beat him.”

The expressions be our servants and serve us have the same meaning, and it may sound redundant to try to translate the meaning twice. The repetition is probably for the sake of emphasis, but other languages may find other more natural ways to show this emphasis.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .