Now: the transition word here marks the beginning of a new part of the story after the setting of the stage in the previous verses. The focus now shifts to the rich man, who receives a visitor. English versions show this shift in a variety of ways. Several of them start a new paragraph at this point, and many introduce other markers, such as “One day…” (Revised English Bible as well as Good News Translation), “Now” (New International Version, New American Bible, and New Revised Standard Version as well as Revised Standard Version), and “Then” (New Century Version).

There came a traveler: the sentence structure of Revised Standard Version reflects the Hebrew but is less natural in English than the structure of Good News Translation. The same person is referred to in this verse as a traveler, the wayfarer, and the man. If there is any danger that this will be confusing to the reader or hearer of the story, translators should ensure that these are translated in a more uniform way.

The rich man is said to have been unwilling to kill one of his own animals. The basic sense of the Hebrew verb is “spare” or “have compassion.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates “he didn’t have the heart to take one of his own….” The same word is used again in verse 6; and although it may not be possible to show this relationship between the two occurrences in all languages, translators may consider using a verb like “took pity” or “spared” in both cases. Compare verse 6.

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 .