The new moon: see the comment on verse 5.

You will be missed: it will be necessary in some languages to use an active verb and say “they will miss you” (Bible en français courant uses the indefinite pronoun on as the subject, “one will miss you”) or “my father will notice you’re gone” (New Century Version; see verse 6).

Because your seat will be empty: in some cases this clause may be translated as a separate sentence: “Your empty seat will remind people that you are not there.”

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 a quotation within a quotation. Good News Translation turns the second quotation, the words of Saul’s soldiers, into indirect discourse once again, providing a helpful model for other languages.

The word translated men is very likely intended to refer to human beings in general and not just to males. So it is better to translate “people” as in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version. Others may say less definitely “those who…” (La Bible du Semeur).

Seeks your hurt: that is, “seeks to do you harm” (New Revised Standard Version). Some other possible models are “[David] intends your ruin” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “[David] is your enemy” (Knox).

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 first part of this verse repeats the statements found in verses 7 and 15 above.

The verb had said is taken by Good News Translation as meaning “had said to himself.” New Jerusalem Bible is similar with “had decided.” But most English versions prefer the interpretation that David was speaking out loud, almost certainly to those traveling with him. The verb form in Hebrew is also significant. It indicates something said or thought at some time before the moment that David encountered Abigail on the trail. Both New International Version and New Century Version translate “had just said,” implying that it was only a matter of a few moments between the time that he uttered these words and the time when he met Abigail. New American Bible and Contemporary English Version similarly say “had just been saying.”

In vain: the root meaning of the word so translated has to do with deception. But the idea is well translated by Moffatt: “it was all for nothing.”

He has returned me evil for good: as the verb tense of Revised Standard Version indicates, Nabal had already done wrong to David by refusing to help his men.

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 words And David said may be considered redundant in some languages and may therefore be omitted. David is speaking in verse 9, and he continues to speak here. New Century Version and Contemporary English Version continue the quotation begun in the previous verse without these words.

The antecedents of the pronouns him, his, and he may be ambiguous, since the reader may think that the reference is the person “who puts his hand against the LORD’s anointed” (verse 9). To avoid ambiguity translators may use the name Saul the first time the third person pronoun occurs.

As the LORD lives: see the comments on 14.39.

Smite: as in previous verses (15.3; 20.33) this verb refers to killing with a blow or strike. Similarly the expression go down into battle and perish also refers to death in the course of warfare. This is in contrast to the previous clause, his day shall come to die, which refers to natural death.

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 .

And when Saul inquired: literally “And Saul inquired.” The relationship between verses 5 and 6 may be made clearer by saying “and so,” as Good News Translation has done. The reason that Saul inquired of the LORD was that he was afraid of the Philistine army (see also verse 15). Many languages will require that translators either specify what Saul asked the LORD (Good News Translation “what to do”) or render the verb differently (New Century Version “prayed”).

By dreams: it was believed that God spoke to prophets in their dreams (for example, Num 12.6; Jer 23.25).

Urim: regarding Urim and Thummim, see the comment on 14.41. These were small objects used by Israelite priests to find out God’s will. It is not known precisely how they were used (see Exo 28.30; Num 27.21; Deut 33.8; Ezra 2.63; Neh 7.65). Though the Hebrew text says only by Urim, Good News Translation adds the words “and Thummin” because the two were often used together. Since the writer does not mention “Thummin,” there is no good reason to add it here. Since these objects were handled by priests, Contemporary English Version translates by Urim as “by a priest.”

Prophets: see the comments at 3.20 and 9.9.

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 .

As the note in Revised Standard Version indicates, the Masoretic Text does not have the words and all after the word women. Revised Standard Version and many other versions follow the Septuagint by including these words. The difference in meaning is considerable. In the Hebrew of this verse, only women seem to have been taken captive, although children are specifically mentioned in verse 3. In the Septuagint rendering of this verse, both the women and all others (including men) are taken captive.

Some versions reflect a mixture of the Hebrew and Greek texts, following neither completely. Good News Translation and Revised English Bible, for example, say “all the women.” Hertzberg says “the women and what was in it.”

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that there were no men in the city, since they had traveled with David. Even if translators accept the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament regarding the correct text, for translation purposes it may be best to follow the model of Revised Standard Version. Since verse 3 indicates that there were sons and daughters with the women, that information may be shifted into verse 2 by saying the women and all who were in it.

Small and great do not refer to the physical size of the persons captured. Possibly these words indicate their social status. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “low-born and high-born alike.” It is also possible, however, that the reference is to “young and old” (Revised English Bible and New American Bible), as also in 5.9. See also verse 19 below, where the same Hebrew words occur. Since the context does not clearly indicate the precise sense, translators must simply choose one of the possible meanings.

Carried … off translates a Hebrew verb meaning “to lead” or “to drive off.” The Revised Standard Version translation (also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) is an idiom in English and should not be understood to mean that the captives were carried off in wagons. The captives were almost certainly forced to walk.

If translators follow the Hebrew rather than the Septuagint, they may say “They had taken all the women captive, both the young and the old [or, those who were important and those who were not].” Good News Translation leaves implicit what is explicit here in Hebrew, but the additional statement “young and old” provides emphasis that is lacking in Good News Translation.

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 .