At the beginning of this verse, David continues speaking in the third person in reference to himself and in addressing the king. But in the second sentence David switches to using the first person (me) when referring to himself, and second person (you) when addressing Saul. In most languages the first and second person will have to be used from the beginning (verse 18).

Stirred you up against me: while many English versions use the verb “incited,” the meaning may be better expressed in some language by using a causative verb such as “caused you to be angry with me” (New Century Version) or “made me your enemy.”

May he accept an offering: literally “may he smell an offering [or, sacrifice].” The rising smoke of sacrifices was considered to be a pleasing odor for God, who would then accept the offering.

Men: literally “the sons of a man.” This expression occurs elsewhere in the Old Testament and means simply “men” or “human beings.” It stands in contrast with the LORD, mentioned earlier in this verse.

Driven me out, that is, out of land of Israel. See also verse 20.

This day: as in verse 8 above, this may be better translated “tonight,” unless it is thought that the sun had risen by the time this exchange occurred. Or in the present context it may bear the meaning “from this time forward.” In a sense David had already been driven out for some time, so this day may also be understood in the broader sense of “at this time.” It is perhaps for this reason that Good News Translation leaves it implicit.

The heritage of the LORD: see the comment on 10.1, where the people themselves are the heritage. Here the heritage is the land of Israel (see also Psa 136.21-22). Moffatt renders this “for they have banished me this day from all contact with the Eternal’s own land.”

Go, serve other gods: Good News Translation (also Revised English Bible) restructures and does not keep these words as a direct quotation, since it is actually a quote within a quote. Other gods are, of course, the gods that non-Israelite people worship in their countries.

The last half of this verse is expressed as a hypothetical situation in New Jerusalem Bible: “since they have as effectively banished me today from sharing in Yahweh’s heritage as if they had said ‘Go and serve other gods!’ ” This translation seems to express the correct sense of the Hebrew in English.

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 .

Samuel now speaks directly to Saul without the intervention of the medium. Being brought back from the world of the dead is considered a serious interference with the normal course of events. So Samuel asks why such a thing should be done. Saul responds that this course of action was his only hope, since God had abandoned him and would not answer him.

God … answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams: see verse 6. But note that in this case the second item mentioned in verse 6, the “Urim,” is omitted.

Therefore: or “that is why.” The transition word chosen should show clearly that this is the logical conclusion to the explanation of why Samuel was called back from the world of the dead. If it is more natural to do so in the receptor language, this element may be moved forward to the beginning of Saul’s response and worded “This is why I called you to tell me what to do:….”

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 .

Those who found an Egyptian were the four hundred men who continued traveling with David, not the two hundred who stayed behind. This should be made clear in translation, since the pronoun They at the beginning of this verse may be misunderstood.

An Egyptian: the Hebrew text does not state here that this Egyptian was a young man. That information is not given until verse 13. Good News Translation, however, has moved this information forward to verse 11.

Bread is often used to refer to food in general. This is very likely the intended meaning here (so Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, 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 .

All the valiant men: this refers to the most courageous warriors, who were usually involved in military matters. Others translate “all the warriors” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible). See also comments on “man of valor” in 1 Sam 16.18.

Arose: on the use of this verb in series with another action verb, see the comments at 9.3 and on page 20 and following.

They came: the Hebrew leaves implicit that the men “came with the bodies of Saul and his sons.” The Septuagint says that they “brought them” (followed by Revised English Bible). Many translations use the verb “brought” rather than came; and it is not clear whether they are following the Septuagint or only making explicit what is implicit in the Hebrew.

The verb “to burn” is also used for burning spices for a dead person when the person is buried (see 2 Chr 16.14; Jer 34.5). Because cremation was not a common practice in Israel, and because no reason is given in the text for the burning of these bodies, some interpreters understand the Hebrew verb to mean that the bodies were “anointed with spices” rather than “burned.” New English Bible, for example, says “and anointed them there with spices.” Lack of the preposition “for” in Hebrew makes the New English Bible interpretation unlikely, and Revised English Bible reverts to “burned them.” Moffatt says “they lamented over them [the bodies] there.” However, given the amount of time that must have passed between the deaths in battle and the time when the bodies were returned to Jabesh, the action of burning may have been merely to protect the health and welfare of the inhabitants of the city.

The continuing loyalty of the people of Jabesh to Saul may explain why the region of Gilead later supported Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, rather than David (2 Sam 2.8-10). The march from Jabesh northwest to Beth Shan covered a distance of fifteen kilometers (or about ten miles).

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 .

Depending on how the last part of the previous verse is translated, it may be better to begin this one by saying “When David heard this he sent….”

It will probably be unnecessary to repeat the phrase the men of Jabesh-gilead here, since it has just been mentioned in the previous verse and will probably require a rather long expression in many languages. It may be quite adequate to say simply “those men” or “those people,” referring back to the longer expression in the previous verse.

May you be blessed by the LORD: this passive construction may be easily transformed into an active one by saying “May the LORD bless you…” as in Good News Translation (translated similarly in Contemporary English Version and New Century Version).

Loyalty: the term so translated (chesed) is a keyword in the Old Testament as a whole and in this book. It is repeated in the following verse, where it is unfortunately rendered differently in Revised Standard Version. In 1 Samuel it is rendered “kindness” (15.6), “loyal love” (20.14), and “loyalty” (20.15). In the book of Ruth it is rendered “kindness” (2.20 and 3.10). The meaning does, of course, vary with the context, and scholars continue to debate the precise meaning. Traditionally it was thought that the central idea was that of “mercy” or “steadfast love” (frequently in Revised Standard Version). More recent scholarship suggests that the basic meaning is related to “loyalty to covenant obligations.” In this context the idea of a loving fulfillment of contractual obligations seems to be in focus. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh seeks to represent it as “this act of faithfulness,” which is similar to Revised English Bible and which conveys the fact that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had “kept faith with Saul.” And New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “showing … faithful love.”

Your lord: the same word may be used for an earthly master or for God, but here it clearly refers to Saul and is therefore better rendered “your king” (Good News Translation) or “your master” (New International Version and New Century Version).

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 .

Good News Translation has dropped the redundant information found in the beginning of this verse in Revised Standard Version. It has already been stated in verse 2 that Rechab and Baanah were the sons of Rimmon and that he was from Beeroth.

Set out: that is, started out on their journey. Some may wish to translate “started going [to Ishbosheth’s house].”

The heat of the day: as seen in 1 Sam 11.11, this expression refers to the time of day when the sun is strongest—at approximately noon. Compare also Gen 18.1.

The Masoretic Text has the name Ish-bosheth in this verse and the name “Mephibosheth” in the previous verse. Though some manuscripts of the Septuagint read “Mephibosheth” in both of these verses, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text here.

His noonday rest: An American Translation has “his mid-day siesta.” In some cultures there is a special term for the rest taken in the middle of the day.

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 .

Carried … upon a new cart: when the Covenant Box was moved from Ekron to Beth-shemesh, it was also transported on a new cart (see 1 Sam 6.7). It was probably out of respect for the Box that the people of Israel wanted to use a cart that would not have been in danger of ever having been contaminated by any other load.

The house of Abinadab: according to 1 Sam 7.1, this is where the Covenant Box had been left. Abinadab had two sons named Uzzah and Ahio who helped with the moving of the Box. The consonants of the name Ahio are the same as the Hebrew word translated “his brother” or “his brothers.” The Septuagint translated this as “Uzzah and his brothers,” but nearly all modern translations render this word as the name Ahio. The hill mentioned here was located in the town of Kireath-jearim, which was also called Baalah (see verse 2).

Driving: as the following verse makes clear, the two men were not seated on the cart but were walking with it and steering it along the way. Translators should take care to select a verb that conveys this meaning.

Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation follow the shorter form of verse 3b and 4a, which is attested by the Septuagint and a manuscript from Qumran. The Masoretic Text has the following words at the end of this verse and at the beginning of verse 4: “and brought it out of the house of Abinadab which was on the hill.” Although the MT is followed by several translations (for example, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Nouvelle version Segond révisée), Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the shorter text and suggests that the longer reading found in the MT is the result of an error by a scribe, who accidentally repeated words found earlier in verse 3.

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 .