In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the first two elements in this verse and say “Everywhere you went, I remained with you.”

Cut off all your enemies: the verb translated cut off will be more naturally rendered in most languages as “destroyed” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible), “exterminating” (Knox), or “got rid of” (New Jerusalem Bible). Compare 1 Sam 20.15-16 and Psa 143.12.

I will make for you a great name: the idea of making a great name will be rendered as “famous” or “well-known” in many languages. The verb form here and those in the following verse have long troubled scholars. While some interpreters think that the context seems to require a past tense interpretation, the grammar favors the future. The past tense, however, is possible, and Contemporary English Version has rendered the verb here as past: “I have made you one of the most famous people in the world.” Other versions adopting this solution are Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Anderson, and Knox. The final decision about which verb tense to use here is tied to the discussion about the following verse, and so this should be decided in conjunction with the verbs that follow.

The great ones of the earth: the word used for great ones is the same as translated “a great man” in 3.38 but is plural here. Anchor Bible translates “a nobleman” in that case and “the nobility in the land” in this verse. Some other renderings of the phrase used here are “the greatest men on earth” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “the most famous people in the world” (Contemporary English Version).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .