The Hebrew text leaves certain information implicit. Since Saul was not with the messengers, it is most probable that he sent for Michal to come to him.

Escaped: see the comments on verse 10 above.

And Michal answered Saul: Good News Translation follows English style by not immediately repeating names. Good News Translation also changes direct discourse into indirect at the end of this verse. In Hebrew the words of David are a quotation within the larger quotation of Michal’s speech.

He said to me: in this context the verb said may be rendered “threatened” (see next paragraph).

Why should I kill you? This elliptical expression may need to be expanded in translation. Implicit in the question is the threat that David will kill Michal if she tries to prevent him from escaping. The words Let me go do not mean that Michal was holding David back with ropes or chains, or restraining him in some other physical way. Compare Revised English Bible (“He said to me, ‘Help me to escape or I shall kill you.’ ”) and New American Bible (“He threatened me, ‘Let me go or I will kill you’ ”). The implied threat should be translated in such a way as to indicate that this is what Michal said in response to Saul. But it does not necessarily mean that what she said is what actually happened.

The quote within a quote found in Revised Standard Version accurately reflects the form of the Hebrew but may be quite unnatural in other languages. Good News Translation provides a good model for making the embedded quotation into indirect discourse. Contemporary English Version and New Century Version handle the problem in a similar way.

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 .