Nearly all versions, including New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, divide the first half of this verse as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. The Masoretic Text, however, divides these words after the words In life and is followed by New International Version (also King James Version, Nouvelle version Segond révisée, and Chouraqui), which restructures a little and says:

• “Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and gracious,
and in death they were not parted.”

Either way of dividing the text makes good sense and is grammatically possible. In languages where the passive form is a problem, translators may say something like “During their lifetime Saul and Jonathan were pleasing and people loved them very much….”

Beloved and lovely: some languages will require a verb to relate the subjects and the characteristics. In most cases the past tense of the verb “to be” will be most suitable. Note also that Revised English Bible reversed the order and translates “Beloved and lovely were Saul and Jonathan.” Both characteristics are intended to describe both persons. They were both pleasing, beautiful (lovely), and held in high esteem by others (beloved). In verse 26 the verb translated “very pleasing have you been” in Revised Standard Version is from the same root as the word translated lovely here. The Hebrew word translated lovely in Revised Standard Version is translated “delightful ones” by Fox.

In life and in death they were not divided: if the text is divided in this way, in some languages it will be more natural to state this truth in a positive rather than a negative manner: “They lived together, and when they died they were also together.” Others may prefer to state the first half positively and the second half negatively: “They spent their lives together, and when they died they were not separated.” If, however, the text is divided as in the Masoretic Text, the word order may be changed as in Bible en français courant:

• All their life, Saul and Jonathan were dearly loved,
even in their death, they were not separated.

Saul and Jonathan are compared to eagles and lions, and the text makes clear that the characteristics at which they were better than these creatures were swiftness and strength. The eagle was considered very swift (Pro 23.5; Jer 4.13; Hab 1.8) and the lion very strong (Pro 30.30).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .