The verb said is a good literal translation of the Hebrew, but the context seems to suggest something more specific: “sent word to” (Revised English Bible) or “warned” (New American Bible). It is doubtful whether Saul spoke directly to the Kenites, so it may be better to transform the direct quotation into indirect discourse. Good News Translation does this partially, but the remaining words may be translated “warned them to get away from the Amalekites in order to avoid being killed along with them.”

In the Hebrew text, the words for you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt are part of the words spoken by Saul to the Kenites. Good News Translation restructures to make these words part of the information that the author supplies to the reader about the Kenites, but it is better to keep these words as part of the message spoken to the Kenites.

The Kenites apparently lived in the southeast part of Palestine, near the border with Moab (see also comments on 30.29). These nomadic tribes had showed kindness to … Israel by serving as guides in the desert when the Israelites had fled Egypt at the time of Moses (Num 10.29-32; Judges 1.16).

The first three verbs in this verse, go, depart, and go down, are plural. The pronouns you and the verb showed kindness are singular. The plural is used as the people are addressed collectively as a single unit, and then the singular is used to address each Kenite individually.

With them: literally “with him” (see the comments on verse 3).

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 .