complete verse (1 Samuel 31:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 31:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “So/Therefore, Saul, his three sons and the servant who used to carry for him the weapons died. Very many of his soldiers also died on that day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In this way Saul and his three sons and his armor bearer died. That day all of Saul’s men died.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So that day Saul died, and his three male children/(sons), and the one-who-carries his weapons-of-war, and all his men.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So Saul, three of his sons, and the man who carried Saul’s weapons, all died on that same day.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 31:6

Verse 6 is linked to the preceding verses with the conjunction waw. In this context the conjunction has a summarizing function and may be translated in various ways such as “So,” Thus, “In this way.” With the death of Saul and his sons, the words of Samuel spoken in 28.19 are fulfilled.

His three sons: in view of the comments made on verse 1, it may be better to translate here “three of his sons.”

Armor-bearer: Good News Translation renders this “the young man,” perhaps avoiding the repetition of the somewhat awkward term armor-bearer, which appears four times in the Hebrew text of verses 4-6.

And all his men: these words are lacking in the Septuagint, which is followed by New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that all his men refers only to a handful of men who were fighting around Saul, since others fled (see verse 7).

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 .

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 31:5

His sword: the pronoun his is ambiguous in Hebrew, meaning either Saul’s sword or the young man’s own sword (Good News Translation, New Century Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). The latter seems more likely.

Fell upon his sword: as in the case of Saul in the previous verse, this was an intentional act of suicide, so the translation should leave no doubt about this.

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 .