1 Samuel 20:23

20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!” ¹ 

1 Samuel 25:6

25:6 Then you will say to my brother, ²  “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours!

1 Samuel 24:18

24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me.

1 Samuel 28:12

28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. ³  The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

1 Samuel 9:27

9:27 While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” So he did. ⁴  Samuel then said, ⁵  “You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God’s message.”

1 Samuel 13:11

13:11 But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me ⁶  and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash,

1 Samuel 15:6

15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away ⁷  with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 23:17

23:17 He said to him, “Don’t be afraid! For the hand of my father Saul cannot find you. You will rule over Israel, and I will be your second in command. Even my father Saul realizes this.”

1 Samuel 24:11

24:11 Look, my father, and see the edge of your robe in my hand! When I cut off the edge of your robe, I didn’t kill you. So realize and understand that I am not planning ⁸  evil or rebellion. Even though I have not sinned against you, you are waiting in ambush to take my life.

[20:23]  ¹ tc Heb “the Lord [is] between me and between you forever.” The translation assumes that the original text read עֵד עַד־עוֹלָם (’ed ’ad-’olam), “a witness forever,” with the noun “a witness” accidentally falling out of the text by haplography. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.

[25:6]  ² 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).

[28:12]  ³ tn Heb “in a great voice.”

[9:27]  ⁴ tc This statement is absent in the LXX (with the exception of Origen), an Old Latin ms, and the Syriac Peshitta.

[9:27]  ⁵ tn The words “Samuel then said” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[13:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “dispersed from upon me.”

[15:6]  ⁶ tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate which assume a reading אֶסִפְךָ (’esfÿka, “I sweep you away,” from the root ספה [sfh]) rather than the MT אֹסִפְךָ (’osifÿka, “I am gathering you,” from the root אסף[’sf]).

[24:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “there is not in my hand.”