I think: this translates a Hebrew verb meaning “I see,” but here it may be used in the sense of “perceive” or “think.” Some other renderings are “I notice…” (New American Bible) and “I recognize…” (New Jerusalem Bible).

The running of the foremost is like the running of Ahima-az: this is a rather awkward way of saying that the runner who was in front was running in a manner like that of Ahimaaz. This supposes that the watchman knew him well and could have recognized his way of running even before being able to tell who he was in any other way. Some translators may prefer to break this sentence down into two: “It looks to me like the first person is Ahimaaz. I can tell by the way he runs.” It may be just as well to omit the son of Zadok, since this is a restatement of information given in verses 19 and 22 above.

Good tidings: here the adjective good is a part of the text and not added by English translators (as was the case in the Good News Translation rendering of verses 19 and 20).

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 .