1 Samuel 3:19

3:19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled. ¹ 

1 Samuel 4:15

4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead; ²  he was unable to see.

1 Samuel 8:3

8:3 But his sons did not follow ³  his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice. ⁴ 

1 Samuel 15:29

15:29 The Preeminent One ⁵  of Israel does not go back on his word ⁶  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁷ 

1 Samuel 18:2

18:2 Saul retained David ⁸  on that day and did not allow him to return to his father’s house.

1 Samuel 27:4

27:4 When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him.

1 Samuel 28:6

28:6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him – not by dreams nor by Urim ⁹  nor by the prophets.

1 Samuel 29:7

29:7 So turn and leave ¹⁰  in peace. You must not do anything that the leaders of the Philistines consider improper!” ¹¹ 

¹ tn Heb “and he did not cause to fall from all his words to the ground.”

² tn Heb “were set” or “were fixed,” i.e., without vision.

³ tn Heb “walk in” (also in v. 5).

⁴ tn Heb “and they turned aside after unjust gain and took bribes and perverted justice.”

⁴ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

⁵ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

⁶ sn This observation marks the preceding statement (v. 28) as an unconditional, unalterable decree. When God makes such a decree he will not alter it or change his mind. This does not mean that God never deviates from his stated intentions or changes his mind. On the contrary, several passages describe him as changing his mind. In fact, his willingness to do so is one of his fundamental divine attributes (see Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). For a fuller discussion see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Change His Mind?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

⁵ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ sn See the note at 1 Sam 14:41.

⁷ tn Heb “go.”

⁸ tn Heb “and you must not do evil in the eyes of the leaders of the Philistines.”