Now then: literally “And now.” Most modern versions, however, take this as a kind of logical transition marker. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, for example, has “Therefore.”

With the servants of your lord who came with you: the servants … who came with you refers to the other Israelites who fled to Philistine territory with David in order to escape from King Saul (see 27.1-3). Your lord almost certainly refers to King Saul (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and see verses 3-4) and not to King Achish (see verse 8 and comments there). One model is “you and all those who had once served Saul” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Some versions avoid the problem by saying “you and the men who have come with you” (Bible en français courant) or “you and the men who are with you” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). But it is probably best to follow the model of Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and make explicit that Saul is intended.

New Century Version translates the entire verse in this way: “Early in the morning you and your master’s servants, the Israelites, should go back. Go back to the city I gave you. Leave as soon as the sun comes up.”

Following the words who came with you, the Septuagint has additional words that are translated by Revised English Bible as “and go to the town which I allotted to you; harbour no resentment, for I am well satisfied with you.” New Revised Standard Version likewise follows this longer text, saying “and go to the place that I appointed for you. As for the evil report, do not take it to heart, for you have done well before me. Start early in the morning, and leave as soon as you have light.” A number of other translations also include these words (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Contemporary English Version, Osty-Trinquet). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament considers that the shorter Masoretic Text is the result of an error. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament therefore gives a {D} rating to the text of the Septuagint and recommends that it be followed. Translators are advised to include the longer text of the Septuagint, although it is not found in Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation.

Contemporary English Version has restructured the Septuagint, and this may serve as a good model in other languages:

• You and your troops will have to go back to the town I gave you. Get up and leave tomorrow morning as soon as it’s light. I am pleased with you, so don’t let any of this bother you.

The above words in italics show clearly what the Septuagint additions are.

This verse contains three different expressions that refer to beginning activity early: rise early in the morning, start early in the morning, and as soon as you have light. These may be considered redundant if all three are translated literally. Yet the repetition is probably used intentionally in Hebrew for the sake of emphasis. The following model may be helpful in restructuring some languages:

• Therefore, early tomorrow morning all of you who left Saul and came over to me will have to get up and leave as soon as you see the light of dawn. Go back to the town I gave you, and don’t let any of this bother you, because I am pleased with you.

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 .

Hebron: see the comments on 2 Sam 2.1.

The verb translated roamed is a special form of a common Hebrew verb meaning to walk or move. This form indicates movement back and forth. Certain versions speak of the places that “David and his men had frequented” (New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible), “… had passed through” (La Bible du Semeur) or “… had traveled” (Contemporary English Version).

For all the places … had roamed: literally “and for all the places … had roamed.” The difference in the transition word is crucial. The most likely sense of this Hebrew clause is that it stands in apposition to the places named in verses 27-31a. The conjunction “and” therefore functions in an explanatory manner. It may be rendered “namely,” that is, “in Hebron—namely all the places where David and his men had roamed.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “and to those in Hebron—all the places where David and his men had roamed.”

It is possible, however, that this final clause indicates that David sent additional presents to other places not named in verses 27-31a. Compare Revised English Bible, “in Hebron, and in all the places over which he and his men had ranged.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente is even more definite that the unnamed places are different places from those named in verses 27-31a: “Moreover David sent something to all the places in which he had traveled with his men.” New Century Version likewise makes a clear distinction: “He sent some things to the people in all the other places where he and his men had been.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar.

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 two lines in this verse are an example of parallelism, which is quite common in Hebrew poetry. But the second line includes the streets of, which has no parallel in the first line. The two place names, Gath and Ashkelon, are mentioned together in Josh 13.3 as cities of Philistine kings, who were the enemies of the people of Israel, and as such they would have been understood to be centers of enemy opposition (see also 1 Sam 6.17). Ashkelon was located on the Mediterranean coast. And, while the location of Gath is not certain, some scholars suggest that this may be a case of mentioning the closest and most distant Philistine cities in order to represent the totality of the enemy territory. The footnote in La Bible du Semeur expresses this understanding. If the idea that these cities were centers of the enemies of Israel is not included in the translation itself, a footnote should be added providing this information, as in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente. The footnote there reads “Gath and Ashkelon were two important Philistine cities. These enemies would be happy because of Saul’s death.” However, the following model, giving the information in the text itself, may be considered:

• Do not tell this news to our adversaries who live in Gath-town.
Do not talk about it in the streets of the enemy city, Ashkelon.

The verb translated publish in Revised Standard Version is rendered in Nouvelle version Segond révisée as “carry the good news,” but this verb in Hebrew does not necessarily imply that the news was good, since that would depend on the point of view of the writer. A Jewish writer would certainly not have seen the news as good. And the writer was definitely not a Philistine. So translators are advised to avoid the mistake of Nouvelle version Segond révisée.

The second pair of lines in this verse are also parallel. The Philistines are the same as the uncircumcised (see the comments on 1 Sam 14.6). And the verbs rejoice and exult are synonymous. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente provides one model to show that the Philistines and the uncircumcised are the same: “the Philistine daughters … the women of those people without God.”

Daughters of …: in a male-dominated society, it was most shameful and degrading to see the females among the enemies boasting and celebrating victory. It is perhaps for this reason that the word daughters is mentioned twice. In some Old Testament passages the word “daughters” is used to mean “cities” (Psa 48.11). But none of the versions consulted adopts this meaning here, and in light of the parallel with verse 24, the reference is surely to women and not to cities.

Lest: this is a somewhat archaic way of saying “for fear that” or “otherwise it may happen that….” The point is that, if the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan is spread to the enemy cities, the inhabitants will certainly celebrate and revel in it.

The uncircumcised: this expression focuses on a physical characteristic of non-Israelites, but it suggests hostility toward God as well as toward his people. While Good News Translation uses the word “pagan,” it may be necessary in many languages to say something like “people who don’t know God.”

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 .

They: since this pronoun does not refer to anyone in particular, Good News Translation has used a passive construction. In some languages it may be necessary to say something like “Some of David’s men….”

In some languages it will be both clearer and more natural to give the name of the king in this context. Some will say “King David,” while others may prefer simply the name “David.”

Lifted up his voice and wept: the two verbs used together in similar contexts elsewhere have been translated “wept aloud” (1 Sam 11.4) and “raised a loud cry” (Num 14.1). The same sort of expression is also found in Gen 21.16; 27.38; and Ruth 1.9, 14.

Grave: the corresponding Hebrew word is often translated “burying place” (Gen 23.4, 9, 20), and this may be the best translation for many languages in this context. It may also be possible to use a word like “tomb,” as Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Revised English Bible have done.

All the people wept: that is, all the other people wept, or it may be better in some cases to say “all of his [David’s] men wept.” Both Moffatt and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh make it clear that the people involved were David’s soldiers: “all the troops wept.”

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 .

Some versions add a section heading at this point to describe the content of verses 13-16. Contemporary English Version, for example, has “David’s Sons Born in Jerusalem,” and Jerusalem Bible has “The sons born to David in Jerusalem.” Verses 13-16 correspond to 3.2-5, which names David’s sons who were born in Hebron.

The structure may be changed as in Good News Translation by shifting the part about moving to Jerusalem to the beginning of the sentence. This allows for putting the parts about wives and children together, which will be more natural in a number of languages.

Concubines: see the comments on 3.7. In this case some translators may prefer to combine the meaning of concubines and wives by translating “married many women” as in Contemporary English Version. Note, however, that Contemporary English Version is forced to include a footnote explaining that “some of these women were second-class wives.”

From Jerusalem: or “in Jerusalem” (so Fox). After David had moved to Jerusalem, it was there that he took additional wives and concubines.

The passive expression were born to David may be rendered actively as “David’s wives bore him more sons and daughters,” or simply “David fathered more children.”

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 .

The daughter of Saul: in some languages it may be considered unnecessary to repeat this information. But the writer seems to be emphasizing that Michal was not acting like David’s wife but like Saul’s daughter.

Had no child to the day of her death: this wording may imply to some readers that Michal did have a child on the day she died and perhaps even died in childbirth. If there is any danger of misunderstanding, it will be better to say clearly “never had any children” as in Good News Translation, or “remained always without children.” There is no indication whether this implies a curse from God or the fact that David no longer slept with her. It is entirely possible that both were implied by the writer. This verse almost certainly signifies that God had rejected the family of Saul in favor of David.

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 .

The son of Zeruiah: most readers will have no way of knowing that Zeruiah was a woman, even though it is very likely the original readers or hearers knew it. So it will probably be a good idea to follow the Good News Translation model (also Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) in saying “whose mother was Zeruiah,” even though no other English version does this. Compare 2.13.

Was over the army: the text has only the preposition over, while the verb “to be” is understood. This idea will be expressed differently in a number of languages. In some languages it will be more natural to use a verb like “commanded,” “controlled,” or “supervised.” Still others may say something like “looked over the affairs of” or “was the leader of.”

Recorder: the precise meanings of the terms recorder here and “secretary” in the following verse are not clear. The difference between the two is also uncertain. But the rendering of the two terms should be decided together. Anchor Bible translates the term used in this verse (recorder) as “remembrancer,” and indeed the root verb on which the noun is based is “to remember” or “to be mindful.” According to the Anchor Bible commentary, the task of the person holding this office has been compared to that of the Egyptian “speaker,” who was responsible to report to the king and to communicate his proclamations to his subjects. New Jerusalem Bible seems to follow this interpretation by translating “herald.” And so does Anderson, who qualifies the term by adding “royal herald.” Revised English Bible has the modern-sounding expression “secretary of state.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, like Moffatt, translates “chancellor” but adds a note giving details about the duties of this office.

Although the majority of English versions still use the noun recorder or a verb phrase having similar meaning—like “kept the records” (Knox)—translators should feel free to communicate the meaning “royal herald.” Some may say “the spokesman,” “the person in charge of direct communication with the king,” or “the one who reported to the king and made known his decisions to the people.” Since the next verse speaks of a “secretary,” it is probable that the term recorder does not refer primarily to someone who kept official records for the king.

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 .