The men of Ashdod: the Hebrew word translated men is probably not intended to exclude women. While some modern translations retain the translation men (Revised English Bible), others use an inclusive word such as “inhabitants” (New Revised Standard Version) or “the people of Ashdod” (New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version).

The verb they said may be better translated as a reciprocal form in some languages (“they said to each other”), since the content of this direct quotation is obviously something that was exchanged between the people of Ashdod.

The God of Israel: see the comments on 1.17.

For expresses the reason that the ark must not remain among the people of Ashdod. Good News Translation reverses the order of the clauses, stating the reason first. It also avoids wording that may give the impression that the ark acted on its own. So instead of “the ark … must not remain with us,” it will be better in some languages to say “we must not keep the ark … any longer.” It may also be more natural to transform the entire direct quotation into an indirect statement as follows:

• When they saw what was happening, they thought that the God of Israel was punishing them and their god Dagon. And they decided among themselves that they could no longer keep the Covenant Box.

On the meaning and translation of the words his hand is heavy upon us, see the comments on verse 6.

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 .