1 Samuel 19:4

19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf ¹  to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial ²  for you.

1 Samuel 9:2

9:2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

1 Samuel 9:10

9:10 So Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea! ³  Come on. Let’s go.” So they went to the town where the man of God was.

1 Samuel 15:22

15:22 Then Samuel said,

“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices

as much as he does in obedience? ⁴ 

Certainly, ⁵  obedience ⁶  is better than sacrifice;

paying attention is better than ⁷  the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 20:7

20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ ⁸  then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 1:8

1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? ¹⁰  Am I not better to you than ten ¹¹  sons?”

1 Samuel 20:12

20:12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness. ¹²  I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? ¹³ 

1 Samuel 25:8

25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come ¹⁴  at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants ¹⁵  and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” ¹⁶ 

1 Samuel 25:36

25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time ¹⁷  and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing ¹⁸  until morning’s light.

1 Samuel 26:16

26:16 This failure on your part isn’t good! ¹⁹  As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead! ²⁰  Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”

1 Samuel 27:1

David Aligns Himself with the Philistines

27:1 David thought to himself, ²¹  “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”

1 Samuel 29:9

29:9 Achish replied to David, “I am convinced that you are as reliable ²²  as the angel of God! However, the leaders of the Philistines have said, ‘He must not go up with us in the battle.’

1 Samuel 29:6

29:6 So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you ²³  serving ²⁴  with me in the army. ²⁵  I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion ²⁶  of the leaders, you are not reliable. ²⁷ 

¹ tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”

² tn Heb “good.”

³ tn Heb “your word is good.”

⁵ tn Heb “as [in] listening to the voice of the Lord.”

⁶ tn Heb “look.”

⁷ tn Heb “listening.”

⁸ tn The expression “is better” is understood here by ellipsis (see the immediately preceding statement).

⁷ tn Heb “good.”

⁸ tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”

⁹ tn Heb “why is your heart displeased?”

¹⁰ sn Like the number seven, the number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number (see, for example, Dan 1:20, Zech 8:23).

¹¹ tc The Hebrew text has simply “the Lord God of Israel.” On the basis of the Syriac version, many reconstruct the text to read “[is] my witness,” which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if עֵד, ’ed, “witness,” immediately followed ַָדוִד, “David,” in the original text).

¹² tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”

¹³ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בָּאנוּ (ba’nu, “we have come”) rather than the MT’s בָּנוּ (banu, “we have built”).

¹⁴ tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.

¹⁵ tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “you are sons of death.”

¹⁹ tn Heb “said to his heart.”

²¹ tn Heb “I know that you are good in my eyes.”

²³ tn Heb “it is good in my eyes.” Cf. v. 7.

²⁴ tn Heb “your going forth and your coming in.” The expression is a merism.

²⁵ tn Heb “camp.”

²⁶ tn Heb “eyes.”

²⁷ tn Heb “good.”