But David went back and forth: Good News Translation (and similarly Revised English Bible) has changed the structure of this sentence that began in verse 14 and therefore does not translate the Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of verse 15. But translates the common Hebrew conjunction. In this context it expresses a contrast between what the three oldest sons did and what David did. The Hebrew does not say how frequently David returned to Bethlehem.

The text is not clear regarding the other place from which David went back and forth. The reference may be to the royal palace (see 16.21-23) or to the battlefield (see verses 1-2 above). But the more likely meaning seems to be the general area of the battle—which Contemporary English Version refers to as “Saul’s camp.” New Jerusalem Bible expresses the meaning in terms that may be helpful as a model: “David alternated between serving Saul and looking after his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.”

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 .