In asking the question Who will tell me…? David is not so much concerned about the specific person that would bring the message as he is about how he would learn the news. So it is possible to translate “How will I find out…?”

Roughly: this adjective expresses the idea of “difficult,” “hard,” “severe.” New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible (similarly New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible) render it “harshly.”

If a language prefers indirect discourse, translators may consider the following model:

• Then David asked Jonathan how he would find out if Saul answered in an angry manner.

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 .