Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente states in a footnote that “verse 16 in the Hebrew text is obscure and slightly different translations are possible.” A comparison of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation illustrates how different translations of this verse may be.

One difficulty concerns the meaning of the verb translated “made a covenant” in the Revised Standard Version footnote. The Hebrew is literally “Jonathan cut with the house of David.” This may mean “cut a covenant” (so New Revised Standard Version) as in 22.8, or it may mean “cut off [or, destroy],” as in verse 15. Some interpreters correct the Hebrew text by changing the active verb “cut” in the Masoretic Text to the passive verb “to be cut,” and by changing the preposition “with” to the preposition from (so Revised Standard Version and Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel). These changes find some support in the reading of the Septuagint.

The second sentence in this verse is literally “And the LORD sought [vengeance?] from hand of the enemies of David.” The connection of this sentence with the first sentence is not clear. New Revised Standard Version provides one possible translation of the Hebrew text by making the second sentence the content of the covenant oath: “Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the LORD seek out the enemies of David.’ ”

Revised English Bible follows the Septuagint in reading “him” instead of “the enemies of David,” that is, may the LORD take vengeance on David himself. Revised English Bible basically follows the Greek in the following translation of this verse: “may the LORD call him [David] to account if he and his house are no longer my friends.”

Some propose that the Hebrew should be changed to read “house of Saul” instead of “house of David.” Compare New Jerusalem Bible (and similarly Osty-Trinquet): “Do not let Jonathan’s name be exterminated [corrected to a passive verb] with Saul’s family, or may Yahweh call David to account.” Following a different understanding of the text, Fox places “David’s enemies” in quotation marks and translates “may YHWH seek (it) from the hand of ‘David’s enemies’!” and then explains in a footnote that later scribes have added the word “enemies” in order to avoid placing a curse on David.

Because this verse and the preceding verses are so obscure, it is difficult to recommend any one translation over another. One thing is important: translators may be tempted to follow one translation in one part of a verse and then a different translation in another part of the verse. The result may be a translation that makes little or no sense. It is important that verses 12-16 hold together logically. Notes such as those cited above from Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and other translations may be used to inform readers that the Hebrew text of these verses is very difficult to understand and that the translation is uncertain.

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and proposes the following interpretation: in 16a Jonathan makes a covenant with David, and 16b consists of an oath that Jonathan makes David swear. Also, the words “the enemies of David” are a euphemism, as in 2 Sam 12.14, for the “sons of David,” who ought not to be referred to in a cursing formula. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends the following translation of verses 15-16 and suggests that a note be used to state that “David’s enemies” means “David’s sons”:
and you will not cut off your kindness from my house for ever, even not when the LORD cuts off David’s enemies, every one of them from the face of the earth! Thus Jonathan made the covenant with the house of David: “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account!”

The following translation attempts to express more clearly the sense of the translation proposed by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament:

• and do not cut off your kindness from my descendants for ever, not even when the LORD destroys every one of your descendants from the face of the earth! So Jonathan made the covenant with the family of David, and David said, “May the LORD call my descendants to account if they do not keep this covenant.”

Compare also the Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente rendering of verse 16, which follows here the recommendations of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament:

• This is the promise that Jonathan imposed on David and on his descendants, saying: “May the LORD not take account of the descendants of David if they do not obey it [the promise].”

Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has the following footnote on this verse:
Verse 16 in the Hebrew text is obscure and there are several slightly different translations possible. The word translated “descendants” is, in Hebrew, “enemies.” But the term “enemies” has been used in order to not attribute to the descendants of David a curse formula.

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 .