1 Samuel 23:15

23:15 David realized ¹  that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph.

1 Samuel 23:23

23:23 Locate precisely all the places where he hides and return to me with dependable information. ²  Then I will go with you. If he is in the land, I will find him ³  among all the thousands of Judah.”

1 Samuel 23:26

23:26 Saul went on one side of the mountain, while David and his men went on the other side of the mountain. David was hurrying to get away from Saul, but Saul and his men were surrounding David and his men so they could capture them.

Psalms 11:1

Psalm 11 ⁴ 

For the music director; by David.

11:1 In the Lord I have taken shelter. ⁵ 

How can you say to me, ⁶ 

“Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁷ 

Jeremiah 12:5

12:5 The Lord answered, ⁸ 

“If you have raced on foot against men and they have worn you out,

how will you be able to compete with horses?

And if you feel secure only ⁹  in safe and open country, ¹⁰ 

how will you manage in the thick undergrowth along the Jordan River? ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “saw.”

² tn Heb “established.”

³ tn Heb “I will search him out.”

³ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

⁴ tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

⁵ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

⁶ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.

⁴ tn The words “The Lord answered” are not in the text but are implicit from the context. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Some commentaries and English versions follow the suggestion given in HALOT 116 s.v. II בָּטַח that a homonym meaning “to stumble, fall down” is involved here and in Prov 14:16. The evidence for this homonym is questionable because both passages can be explained on other grounds with the usual root.

⁶ tn Heb “a land of tranquility.” The expression involves a figure of substitution where the feeling engendered is substituted for the conditions that engender it. For the idea see Isa 32:18. The translation both here and in the following line is intended to bring out the contrast implicit in the emotive connotations connected with “peaceful country” and “thicket along the Jordan.”

⁷ tn Heb “the thicket along the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.