Good News Translation makes explicit the reason that David asks Ahimelech if he has a spear or sword by adding the words “to give me.”

The negative question of Revised Standard Version may be better translated in certain languages as “you surely have a spear or a sword, don’t you?”

At hand: see verses 3 and 4.

The word for introduces David’s reason for asking for a weapon. But in some languages it may be more natural to leave this word implicit.

Since the sword is obviously a weapon, Good News Translation finds it more logical to translate my weapons as “any other weapon.”

The king’s business: compare “the king has charged me with a matter” (verse 2).

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 .