1 Samuel 19:20

19:20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied.

1 Samuel 19:2

19:2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying ¹  to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find ²  a hiding place and stay in seclusion. ³ 

1 Samuel 2:3

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ⁴ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ⁵  evaluates what people do.

1 Samuel 2:5

2:5 Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food,

but the hungry no longer lack.

Even ⁶  the barren woman gives birth to seven, ⁷ 

but the one with many children withers away. ⁸ 

1 Samuel 2:15

2:15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest’s attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, “Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won’t take boiled meat from you, but only raw.” ⁹ 

1 Samuel 4:1

4:1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord ¹⁰  to all Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines

Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. ¹¹  They camped at Ebenezer, ¹²  and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

1 Samuel 6:1

The Philistines Return the Ark

6:1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land ¹³  of the Philistines for seven months, ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “seeking.”

² tn Heb “stay in.”

³ tn Heb “and hide yourself.”

⁴ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

⁵ tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

⁶ tc Against BHS but with the MT, the preposition (עַד, ’ad) should be taken with what follows rather than with what precedes. For this sense of the preposition see Job 25:5.

⁷ sn The number seven is used here in an ideal sense. Elsewhere in the OT having seven children is evidence of fertility as a result of God’s blessing on the family. See, for example, Jer 15:9, Ruth 4:15.

⁸ tn Or “languishes.”

⁹ tn Heb “living.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “and the word of Samuel was.” The present translation understands Samuel to be the speaker of the divine word (“Samuel” is a subjective genitive in this case), although the statement could mean that he was the recipient of the divine word (“Samuel” is an objective genitive in this case) who in turn reported it to Israel.

¹¹ tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.”

¹² tn Heb “the stone, the help.” The second noun is in apposition to the first one and apparently is the name by which the stone was known. Contrast the expression used in 5:1 and 7:12, where the first word lacks the definite article, unlike 4:1.

¹³ tn Heb “field.”

¹⁴ tc The LXX adds “and their land swarmed with mice.”