1 Samuel 17:17-20

17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly ¹  to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. ²  Find out how your brothers are doing ³  and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. ⁴  17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army ⁵  in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”

17:20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. ⁶  After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp ⁷  as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry.

¹ tn Heb “run.”

² tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”

³ tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”

⁴ tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”

⁵ tn Heb “all the men of Israel.”

⁶ tn Heb “to a guard”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “with a keeper”; NIV “with a shepherd.” Since in contemporary English “guard” sounds like someone at a military installation or a prison, the present translation uses “to someone else who would watch over it.”

⁷ tn Or “entrenchment.”