This verse contains a quotation within a quotation. In many languages it will be necessary to restructure as Good News Translation has done, making the embedded quotation indirect.

Go in peace: see the comments on Eli’s response to Hannah in 1.17, where the same words are used.

Forasmuch as: this wording is somewhat archaic and is not used in modern English. It has been replaced by “since” in New Revised Standard Version and is translated “for” by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh. This transition word seems to establish a relationship between Jonathan’s wishing David well and the fact that they had made promises to each other in the sight of Yahweh. Other versions leave this relationship implicit.

We have sworn: see 18.3.

Be between me and you: as in verse 23, the Septuagint says “be a witness between me and you.” Osty-Trinquet and New Jerusalem Bible both include the word “witness,” and translators in other languages may do so also for reasons of translation, even if this is not justified on the basis of textual considerations.

And he rose and departed: the Septuagint names David as the subject of these two verbs. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text, which has only third person verbs without a noun; but for reasons of translation, translators may follow the example of the Septuagint and use the noun “David” instead of the pronoun “he” in order to avoid ambiguity.

Into the city: this involved a return to the same city mentioned in verse 40.

As indicated in the Revised Standard Version footnote, the last sentence of this verse (following the direct quotation) is taken as the first verse of chapter 21 in the Hebrew text. This division of the text is followed by several modern versions, including New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. There is then a one-verse difference in the verse numbers in chapter 21 between these versions and those following the traditional English verse-numbering system (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New International Version, and others).

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 .

The rather literal translation of Revised Standard Version, the guard who stood about him, seems awkward. New Revised Standard Version is not much better with “the guard who stood around him.” But the meaning is clearly conveyed by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, “the guards standing by.” The singular of Revised Standard Version is collective and translates a plural in Hebrew.

The imperative verb Turn in Revised Standard Version will probably be understood to mean that the guards would have to turn away from the king in order to go out and kill the priests. But the Hebrew may also be understood in the sense of making a circuit or going around from place to place. This is the sense adopted by Anchor Bible, “go around and kill….” New American Bible is similar with “make the rounds….”

The Hebrew verb sometimes means “to surround” or “to encircle.” This is the sense expressed in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente: “Surround them and kill them!” This understanding seems to fit the context better than the idea of “going around from place to place.” Verse 11 indicates that the priests were all gathered in the presence of King Saul, so Saul gave the order to “surround” them and kill them.

Their hand also is with David: this idiomatic expression means simply that “they too are on David’s side” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “they have assisted David” (New American Bible). Other languages may say “they also have joined with David.”

Fled: see the comments on 19.18.

Disclose it to me: see verse 8.

In those languages where direct discourse is less acceptable here, the following model may be considered for the first part of the verse:

• The king told the guards who stood near him to surround [or, go around] and kill the priests of the LORD because they were on David’s side. Although they knew that David had run away, they had not told the king.

The servants of the king: that is, “the king’s professional soldiers” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests: a literal translation may be difficult or unnatural in some languages. Revised English Bible provides an idiomatic rendering in English: “unwilling to raise a hand against the priests of the LORD.”

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 .

From there: that is, from the region of the Maon Desert, described in verses 24 and 25.

Strongholds: see the comments on verse 14.

En-gedi: located on the west shore of the Dead Sea about twenty-nine kilometers (eighteen miles) southeast of Hebron, En-gedi was an oasis with fresh water and hot springs. The name En-gedi means “fountain [en] of the kid [baby goat].” Nueva Biblia Española translates the name here and elsewhere as “Fuentelchivo,” that is, “Fountain of the kid.” See 24.2, which mentions a place in En-gedi called “Wildgoats’ Rocks.”

The verse numbering of the Hebrew is different from Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation here. This verse is the beginning of chapter 24 in Hebrew. The numbering of verses in chapter 24 will therefore differ in various translations, depending on which system has been followed. See the discussion “Verse numbering problems in 1 and 2 Samuel” in the introductory section of this Handbook, which is entitled “Translating the Books of Samuel,” pages 10 and following.

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 .

The form of this verse is a complex question, but it is purely rhetorical, and there is no thought of the speaker seeking information. Nabal uses this form to make a rather strong statement that he has absolutely no intention of giving up his supplies to feed David’s men. In many languages a strong declarative statement will translate the meaning more clearly.

My water: it has seemed strange to many interpreters that water would be in short supply in mountainous regions where sheep are being raised. For this reason many translations follow the Septuagint, which says “my wine” (for example, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Osty-Trinquet). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} evaluation to the Masoretic Text. According to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, “my bread and my water” is an idiom in biblical Hebrew, meaning “my food and my drink,” without necessarily referring specifically to bread and to water. If the reference is indeed specifically to water, perhaps the sense is that Nabal is unwilling to share water from his private wells with David’s men.

My meat that I have killed for my shearers: literally “the slaughtering that I have slaughtered for my shearers.” In languages that use the same word for “meat” and “animal,” this will present no problem, but in certain languages it is not possible to speak of killing meat, and the word for “animal” will have to be substituted. Others may change the verb, saying something like “meat I have butchered.” The Hebrew noun means “slaughtering” and refers here to the animal that has been slaughtered.

Men who come from I do not know where: this wording may be considered awkward in some languages. Some other ways of saying this are “people from unknown parts,” “men whose origin I do not know,” or “strangers who have come here from some place I know nothing about.” New Century Version simply says “men I don’t know.”

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 .

Based on the fact that some people from the city of Ziph had come to Saul previously at Gibeah (23.19), Contemporary English Version begins this chapter with the words “Once again,” and La Bible du Semeur adds the word “again” later in the verse.

Concerning the rhetorical question of the Ziphites and its translation, see the comments on 23.19. Good News Translation restructures and eliminates the direct quotation. Also the Revised Standard Version rendering is in the form of a question. This reflects the Hebrew original, but the question is probably better translated as a statement (whether as direct or indirect discourse), since the speakers were clearly not asking for information but were telling Saul what he did not know.

The hill of Hachilah … east of Jeshimon: see the comments on 23.19.

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 .

Now translates the common Hebrew conjunction. The events of verses 8 and 9 are not later than the time that David lived among the Philistines (verse 7). Good News Translation therefore correctly says “During that time.”

The verb went up is commonly used to designate the beginning of a military campaign (see 7.7; 1 Kgs 20.22). Both the context and the form of the verb suggest that this was something that happened repeatedly and not just once. In languages that have habitual verb forms, it will be appropriate to use such a form here.

Geshurites: a nomadic tribe that lived near the Philistines (Deut 3.14; Josh 13.2).

Girzites: this group of people is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, and there are problems identifying them. The Septuagint, followed by Anchor Bible and Klein, does not have this name. According to this verse they lived somewhere between Philistia and Egypt. The margin of the Masoretic Text corrects Girzites to “Gizrites” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible) or “Gezrites” (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Gezer, however, was located too far north to fit this context. It is very possible that the Masoretic Text is corrupt here and that a group called the Girzites never even existed. It seems best to follow the Masoretic Text, but translators may follow either the reading in the text or the reading in the margin of the Masoretic Text.

Amalekites: see the comments on 14.48.

The words from of old translate one word in Hebrew. Some consider this to be an error in the Masoretic Text. New Revised Standard Version says “for these were the landed settlements from Telam on the way to Shur and on to the land of Egypt” (similarly Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation, Contemporary English Version, La Bible Pléiade). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the Hebrew text should be corrected to read “from Telam,” finding some evidence for this text in the manuscripts of the Septuagint tradition. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} reading to this corrected text. Translators should follow the model of New Revised Standard Version rather than either Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation. Telam is a settlement in southern Judah (Josh 15.24; and see the comments on 15.4 and 2 Sam 3.12). The spelling “Telaim” in Revised English Bible is a variant spelling of the same location.

Shur: its location is discussed at 15.7.

Several modern versions take the last half of this verse as a digression that explains the geographical location of the ethnic groups involved. It is therefore enclosed in parentheses by New International Version and New Century Version and set off by dashes in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.

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 .

The commanders of the Philistines (see the comments on verse 3) are afraid that David and his troops will turn against the Philistines during the battle. By killing Philistine soldiers (with the heads of the men here), David would be able to win back King Saul’s favor.

Were angry with him: that is, angry with King Achish. If there is any danger that readers may understand the pronoun to refer to David, then the name of Achish should be used here.

The commanders of the Philistines said: the Septuagint says simply “they said.” It may be better to follow the example of the Septuagint, not for textual reasons but for reasons of naturalness in translation, since the immediate repetition of this expression may sound unnatural.

The place to which you have assigned him: that is, to the town of Ziklag (see 27.6). See also the comments on the textual problem in verse 10 below.

The precise meaning of go down [with us to battle] is not clear. In fact verse 9 says “to go up.” The Philistines were going up from the coastal plains to the hills of Samaria. Perhaps the sense is “go down into the valley of Jezreel.” Many modern translations simply do not translate the words go down but rather say something like Good News Translation, “Don’t let him go into battle with us.” Other translations may wish to follow this model.

Adversary: this renders the Hebrew word satan, which later came to be considered the name of the devil. As in 2 Sam 19.22 and also Num 22.22, 32; 1 Kgs 11.14, 23, 25, the term refers here to a human adversary.

How could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Translators should make certain that readers understand this fellow to refer to David, and his lord to King Saul.

Would it not be with … the men here? Good News Translation expresses the basic meaning, that the Philistine commanders are afraid that David and his men may turn against the Philistine troops and kill them. But by omitting a reference to the heads of the Philistines, an aspect of ancient warfare is omitted. Victorious soldiers sometimes cut off the heads of defeated enemy troops (for example, 17.46, 51; 31.9; 2 Sam 4.7; 20.22; 2 Kgs 6.32). See the comment on “bodyguard” at 28.2. A translation such as the following will keep this image: “How could this fellow please his king? Wouldn’t it be by turning against us, killing us, and cutting off our heads?” Or, changing the final rhetorical question into a statement, “He could certainly do it by turning against us and cutting off our heads for his master.”

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 .

Since it may be unclear in certain languages to whom the subject pronoun he refers, it may be advisable to substitute the name of David, as Good News Translation has done. Similarly it may not be clear how the pronoun it should be understood. This pronoun refers to the principle stated in the previous verse, that “all will share alike.” La Bible du Semeur says “this way of acting was set up as a law….”

From that day forward … to this day: beginning with this victory over the Amalekites and continuing to the time when this account was written, it became a law in Israel for the loot to be shared between those who fought and those who did not fight (as explained in verse 24).

A statute and an ordinance: the same words appear in Exo 15.25. The Hebrew word rendered statute means an authoritative statement, a pronouncement of some kind; the word rendered ordinance has a wide range of meanings, including “custom,” “command,” and “conformity to rule.” Fox translates the first noun as “prescribed law” and the second as “a practice.” Though some have tried to find a clear distinction in meaning between these two terms, most agree that, at least here, no distinction is intended between the two nouns. Used together these two nouns refer to a legally binding regulation. Compare “the established custom” (Revised English Bible) and “a fixed rule” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

To this day: the sense is not that David set a fixed time for this custom to be preserved, that is, “up to this day.” Rather this elliptical phrase means “and this custom has been observed since then up to the day that this book was written.” New Century Version says “This order and rule continues even today.”

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 .