1 Samuel 25:33

25:33 Praised be your good judgment! May you yourself be rewarded ¹  for having prevented me this day from shedding blood and taking matters into my own hands!

1 Samuel 23:21

23:21 Saul replied, “May you be blessed by the Lord, for you have had compassion on me.

1 Samuel 13:10

13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. ² 

1 Samuel 25:32

25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised ³  be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me!

1 Samuel 15:13

15:13 When Samuel came to him, ⁴  Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said.”

1 Samuel 25:14

25:14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the desert to greet ⁵  our lord, but he screamed at them.

1 Samuel 2:20

2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, “May the Lord raise up for you descendants ⁶  from this woman to replace the one that she ⁷  dedicated to the Lord.” Then they would go to their ⁸  home.

1 Samuel 9:13

9:13 When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for ⁹  this is the time when you can find him!”

1 Samuel 26:25

26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, ¹⁰  my son David! You will without question be successful!” ¹¹  So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 25:39

25:39 When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! ¹²  The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” ¹³  Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.

¹ tn Heb “blessed.”

² tn Heb “to bless him.”

³ tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).

⁴ tn Heb “to Saul.”

⁵ tn Heb “bless.”

⁶ tn Heb “seed.”

⁷ tn The MT has a masculine verb here, but in light of the context the reference must be to Hannah. It is possible that the text of the MT is incorrect here (cf. the ancient versions), in which case the text should be changed to read either a passive participle or better, the third feminine singular of the verb. If the MT is correct here, perhaps the masculine is to be understood in a nonspecific and impersonal way, allowing for a feminine antecedent. In any case, the syntax of the MT is unusual here.

⁸ tn Heb “his.”

⁷ tc The MT has “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto) here, in addition to the “him” at the end of the verse. The ancient versions attest to only one occurrence of the pronoun, although it is possible that this is due to translation technique rather than to their having a Hebrew text with the pronoun used only once. The present translation assumes textual duplication in the MT and does not attempt to represent the pronoun twice. However, for a defense of the MT here, with the suggested translation “for him just now – you will find him,” see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 72-73.

⁸ tn Heb “blessed.”

⁹ tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.

⁹ tn Heb “who has argued the case of my insult from the hand of Nabal.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “his servant he has held back from evil, and the evil of Nabal the Lord has turned back on his head.”