15:4 So Saul assembled 4 the army 5 and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 15:5 Saul proceeded to the city 6 of Amalek, where he set an ambush 7 in the wadi. 8 15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away 9 with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.
15:7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to 10 Shur, which is next to Egypt. 15:8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag’s people 11 with the sword.
1 tn Heb “what Amalek did to Israel, how he placed against him.”
2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Israel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Or perhaps “don’t take pity on” (cf. CEV).
5 tn Heb “caused the people to hear.”
6 tn Heb “people.”
7 tc The LXX has the plural here, “cities.”
8 tc The translation follows the LXX and Vulgate which assume a reading וַיָּאָרֶב (vayya’arev, “and he set an ambush,” from the root ארב [’rv] with quiescence of alef) rather than the MT, which has וַיָּרֶב (vayyareb, “and he contended,” from the root ריב [ryv]).
9 tn That is, “the dry stream bed.”
9 tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate which assume a reading אֶסִפְךָ (’esfÿka, “I sweep you away,” from the root ספה [sfh]) rather than the MT אֹסִפְךָ (’osifÿka, “I am gathering you,” from the root אסף[’sf]).
11 tn Heb “[as] you enter.”
13 tn Heb “all the people.” For clarity “Agag’s” has been supplied in the translation.