Carmel: regarding the town of Carmel, see the comments on verse 2.

They said to her: literally “And they said to her, saying.”

If the direct discourse of this verse is not natural in the receptor language, translators may say “They told her that David had sent them to take her back to become his wife.”

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 .

David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men: as in the previous verse, the structure of the Hebrew focuses on David but includes his men as well. Of course this does not mean that David, all of his troops, and their families lived in the same compound with the king of Gath. Good News Translation, in fact, omits the words with Achish. The sense is that both Achish and all of David’s men lived in the same city.

Ahino-am of Jezreel: see the comments on 25.43.

Abigail of Carmel: see the comments on 25.3. The word order in Hebrew is literally “and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite [feminine].” The Masoretic Text calls Abigail “the Carmelite.” According to the Septuagint, Nabal is called the Carmelite; and this is the basis for those translations such as New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible that say “Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel.”

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 .

A fatted calf: literally “calf from the stall,” that is, a calf that had been confined to a stall and fed to become fat. For this reason New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “a stall-fed calf” (so also New American Bible). Translators will recall the use of a similar expression in the story of the lost son in Luke 15.

In the house: the Hebrew can be translated in the house (so Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) or “at home” (so Revised English Bible). Since Israelite houses were constructed to include space for animals as well as people, the translation in the house is probably correct. But a literal translation may give the wrong impression in cultures where animals are not kept in the same building where people live. Good News Translation avoids the problem by omitting any reference to the house. New International Version and New Century Version have “at the house,” which may help to avoid misunderstanding. But probably the best solution is to translate in the house and provide a footnote explaining this aspect of Israelite culture.

Quickly killed it is literally “made haste and killed it.” See the comments on verse 20 above.

Kneaded it: in some languages the translation of this verb may require several words. The term refers to the action of using the hands to press and work flour and liquid to form a mass of the consistency required for baking bread.

Unleavened bread: in translating the idea unleavened or “without yeast,” some languages have had to say something like “lacking that which causes it [bread] to rise” or “bread that does not swell up.” As in the case of the first Passover meal (Exo 12.8), the reason for preparing this type of bread is that it was quicker. Waiting for bread with yeast to rise takes time, and the woman felt that there was no time to waste.

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 verb translated captured (literally “took”) by Revised Standard Version is taken to mean “recovered” by Good News Translation (also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nueva Biblia Española), giving the impression that this was a matter of taking back livestock that had previously belonged to David and his men. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “all his sheep and cows.” Others, however, take this to refer to animals that had belonged to the Amalekites. Bible en français courant, for example, says quite clearly “he also took the herds of sheep and cattle of the Amalekites.” It seems logical that the Amalekites had taken spoils from places other than Ziklag during their raids, so this probably refers to animals in addition to those that had previously belonged to David and his men. So David’s personal reward for the successful campaign would have been all those other animals. See the comments on the New Revised Standard Version translation below on this verse.

Flocks and herds: the two Hebrew words refer to small animals (including sheep and goats) and to larger animals (such oxen and cattle). New Century Version says “all the sheep and cattle.” Other languages have general terms for small and large livestock that will be appropriate here. See also 2 Sam 12.2.

The people: as in verses 4 and 6 above, the word people refers specifically to the men who traveled with him.

As the footnotes in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation indicate, the Hebrew text is unclear in the middle of this verse. It says “And they drove before that cattle.” Revised Standard Version (so also Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Osty-Trinquet), following the Septuagint, makes one small change in the Hebrew to read that his men drove the cattle in front of David. Good News Translation corrects the text to say that the men drove the animals in front of themselves. It is possible, however, to make sense of the Hebrew without changing the text. New Revised Standard Version probably expresses correctly the intended meaning: “David also captured all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle.”

This is David’s spoil: New Century Version says “They are David’s prize.”

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 .

This verse contains two quotations within the account of the Amalekite messenger. Such quotations within other quotations are often more natural if they are made indirect as in Good News Translation.

If the direct quotations are maintained, in many languages the verb said introducing the first will be more naturally translated “asked,” since what follows is a question.

Amalekite: see the comments on “Amalekites” in verse 1. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “I am an Amalekite soldier.”

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 .

As already discussed in verse 17, the beginning of this verse may be part of a flashback. If so, it may be translated “Abner had also spoken to the people of the tribe of Benjamin.”

Also spoke: the word also goes with the verb spoke and not with the noun Abner as if he, in addition to someone else, spoke to the people of Benjamin.

To Benjamin: literally “in the ears of Benjamin,” as in An American Translation. However, this does not refer to the individual named Benjamin, but rather to his descendants, that is, to the whole tribe of Benjamin. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh seeks to communicate this idea by using the form “Benjaminites.” Some translations take the words “in the ears of” to be an emphasis on the personal nature of the communication. New International Version says “spoke to the Benjamites in person,” while New American Bible has “spoke personally….”

To tell David: as above, this is literally “to tell in the ears of David,” perhaps again emphasizing the personal nature of the communication.

The last part of this verse reads literally “all that is good in the eyes of Israel and in the eyes of all the house of Benjamin.” New American Bible “all that would be agreeable to….” The rendering of Revised Standard Version, thought good to do, may be misleading. This was not merely a matter of internal thinking. It was rather a decision to act that had been agreed upon. For this reason it may be better to translate “had decided to do.”

The two expressions Israel and the whole house of Benjamin are not meant to describe two completely separate groups. The family, or tribe, of Benjamin was a part of Israel. Perhaps the idea is “the people of Israel and especially the tribe of Benjamin.” Compare 2.25, 28, 31.

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 .

In times past: literally “yesterday and the day-before-yesterday” (see 3.17 and 1 Sam 19.7).

It was you: the pronoun here is emphatic. The representatives seem to be expressing an idea that is somewhat contrary to normal expectations, since the king was expected to be the leader in fighting the enemy. This may be expressed by something like “While Saul was still king over us, you were the one who led us in fighting” or “Even when Saul was king, you were our leader in battle” (compare Anchor Bible and Contemporary English Version).

Led out and brought in: see the comments on “going out” and “coming in” at 3.25. Here the reference is certainly a military one. Fox shows this by adding the words “in battle” in parentheses. It was David who led Saul’s forces to victory (note the chant comparing Saul and David found in 1 Sam 18.7; 21.11; and 29.5). So it will be better in most languages to use a verb that indicates leadership and direction in times of combat. And the form of the verb should show that this was something that occurred repeatedly or habitually in the past.

You shall be shepherd: see also 7.7. This actually translates a single verb meaning “do the work of a shepherd.” In Old Testament times kings were frequently said to “shepherd” their people because the image of sheep and shepherds was so familiar to the people in that part of the world. In the receptor language, however, this image may be completely foreign. If this is the case, this verb may have to be translated “You will be the one who will guide and protect [my people].” Or, if the image is retained, it should be made clear that this is a figure of speech: “You will care for my people as a shepherd watches over his sheep….”

Prince: see the comments on 1 Sam 9.16. The word so translated probably means “the designated one” or “the one proclaimed.” It may therefore be rendered “chosen leader” or “designated ruler.” And since this is a part of a direct quotation from the LORD, it is possible to say “the leader whom I have chosen for my people.”

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 .