1 Samuel 14:44

14:44 Saul said, “God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn’t die!” ¹ 

1 Samuel 17:27

17:27 The soldiers ²  told him what had been promised, saying, ³  “This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down.”

1 Samuel 20:22

20:22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’ ⁴  get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away.

1 Samuel 25:6

25:6 Then you will say to my brother, ⁵  “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours!

[14:44]  ¹ tn Heb “So God will do and so he will add, surely you will certainly die, Jonathan.”

[17:27]  ² tn Heb “people.”

[17:27]  ³ tn Heb “according to this word, saying.”

[20:22]  ³ tn Heb “from you and onward.”

[25:6]  ⁴ tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).