Therefore translates the common Hebrew conjunction waw. Here it connects verse 19 with verse 18 as the logical conclusion. In English the meaning is correctly expressed by “So,” “Therefore,” or “Accordingly.”

Grammatically the subject of the verb said is third person singular, presumably Saul. But the message is a transmitted one using messengers. Some languages may have to say “they said.” And in other cases the whole quotation will be made indirect, “requesting that Jesse send his son David, the one who usually watches over the sheep.”

Who is with the sheep: the Hebrew leaves implicit David’s reason for being with the sheep, although it is clear in verse 11. The reason may be made explicit here, as in Good News Translation and La Bible du Semeur.

Contemporary English Version provides a slightly different model, with “Tell your son David to leave your sheep and come here to me.”

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 .