1 Samuel 2:3

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ¹ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ²  evaluates what people do.

1 Samuel 4:1

4:1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord ³  to all Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines

Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. ⁴  They camped at Ebenezer, ⁵  and the Philistines camped at Aphek.

1 Samuel 7:11

7:11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car.

1 Samuel 9:11

9:11 As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, “Is this where the seer is?”

1 Samuel 13:17

13:17 Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual;

1 Samuel 14:11

14:11 When they ⁶  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.”

1 Samuel 14:41

14:41 Then Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, O Lord God of Israel, respond with Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, respond with Thummim.” ⁷  Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated. ⁸ 

1 Samuel 19:3

19:3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, ⁹  I will let you know.”

1 Samuel 19:8

19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ¹⁰  and they ran away from him.

1 Samuel 24:14

24:14 Who has the king of Israel come out after? Who is it that you are pursuing? A dead dog? A single flea?

1 Samuel 25:37

25:37 In the morning, when Nabal was sober, ¹¹  his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. ¹² 

¹ 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.

² 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”).

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “and Israel went out to meet the Philistines for battle.”

⁵ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “the two of them.”

⁷ tc Heb “to the Lord God of Israel: ‘Give what is perfect.’” The Hebrew textual tradition has accidentally omitted several words here. The present translation follows the LXX (as do several English versions, cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 247-48, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 132.

⁸ tn Heb “went out.”

⁹ tn Heb “when I see.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”

¹³ tn Heb “when the wine had gone out from Nabal.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “and his heart died within him and he became a stone.” Cf. TEV, NLT “stroke”; CEV “heart attack.” For an alternative interpretation than that presented above, see Marjorie O’Rourke Boyle, “The Law of the Heart: The Death of a Fool (1 Samuel 25),” JBL 120 (2001): 401-27, who argues that a medical diagnosis is not necessary here. Instead, the passage makes a connection between the heart and the law; Nabal dies for his lawlessness.