1 Samuel 22:20-23

22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 22:21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, “I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty ¹  of all the deaths in your father’s house! 22:23 Stay with me. Don’t be afraid! Whoever ²  seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.”

1 Samuel 22:2

22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented ³  gathered around ⁴  him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.

1 Samuel 15:24-29

15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded ⁵  and what you said as well. ⁶  For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. ⁷  15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship ⁸  the Lord.”

15:26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”

15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul ⁹  grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One ¹⁰  of Israel does not go back on his word ¹¹  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ¹² 

1 Samuel 15:35

15:35 Until the day he ¹³  died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 20:25

20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him ¹⁴  and Abner at his side. ¹⁵  But David’s place was vacant.

[22:22]  ¹ tc The translation follows the LXX, which reads “I am guilty,” rather than the MT, which has “I have turned.”

[22:23]  ² tn Or “the one who.” This may refer specifically to Saul, in which case David acknowledges that Abiathar’s life is endangered because of his allegiance to David. The translation assumes that the statement is more generalized, meaning that any enemy of Abiathar is an enemy of David. In other words, David promises that he will protect Abiathar with his very own life.

[22:2]  ³ tn Heb “bitter of soul.”

[22:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “to.”

[15:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”

[15:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “and your words.”

[15:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “and I listened to their voice.”

[15:25]  ⁸ tn Following the imperative, the cohortative with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[15:27]  ⁹ tn Heb “he,” but Saul is clearly the referent. A Qumran ms and the LXX include the name “Saul” here.

[15:29]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ¹¹ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ¹² 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.

[15:35]  ¹³ tn That is, Samuel.

[20:25]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqam, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיִּקַדֵּם (vayyiqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קדם, qdm). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.

[20:25]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.”