The Hebrew infinitive translated chasing comes from a root meaning “to burn” or “to set on fire.” In a few verses in the Old Testament it means “hotly to pursue,” suggesting an intense chase. Fox attempts to keep something of the Hebrew image by saying “returned from dashing-hotly after the Philistines.”

Plundered their camp: that is, the camp of the Philistines, who had run away. On the meaning of the verb plundered, see 14.48, although the Hebrew verb is slightly different at that point.

While the two clauses in this verse are joined by the conjunction and in Revised Standard Version, the plundering of the Philistine camp came after the return of the Israelites. Good News Translation therefore structures the verse differently, making the first part of the verse into a temporal relative clause. This may be a helpful model for certain other languages.

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 .