Even the valiant man: literally “a son of valor [or, bravery],” as also in 1 Sam 14.52. While the singular is used in the text, the meaning is clearly plural and should be so translated in very many languages. At the end of this verse, one finds this expression again, but in the plural, “sons of valor.”

Whose heart is like the heart of a lion: lions were thought to be very strong (1.23) and without fear. In the story of David’s encounter with Goliath (1 Sam 17), there are references to his courage in facing lions when he was taking care of his father’s sheep. The expression here refers to the courage of brave soldiers in general. It may be translated with or without reference to heart or lion. Some possible models are “who are like lions because they lack fear,” “who have strong hearts and do not know fear,” or simply “who have no fear at all.”

Will utterly melt with fear: the image of melting, which is also used figuratively of mountains in the Old Testament (Psa 97.5; Micah 1.4), may be completely misunderstood if translated literally in some languages. Used of soldiers it will be better to use a verb such as “to become weak.” The Hebrew construction is “to melt, they will melt” (or, “to become weak, they will become weak”). The meaning is that these courageous fighters will be so afraid that they will lose their courage. Some ways of expressing this are “will be shaken” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “will be demoralized” (New Jerusalem Bible), “will be overcome with sudden fear” (Knox), or in some cases “their strong hearts will become weak because they are afraid.”

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 .