1 Samuel 23:7

23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, “God has delivered ¹  him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.” ² 

Psalms 62:1

Psalm 62 ³ 

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of David.

62:1 For God alone I patiently wait; ⁴ 

he is the one who delivers me. ⁵ 

Psalms 118:8

118:8 It is better to take shelter ⁶  in the Lord

than to trust in people.

Ecclesiastes 9:14-15

9:14 There was once ⁷  a small city with a few men in it,

and a mighty king attacked it, besieging ⁸  it and building strong ⁹  siege works against it.

9:15 However, a poor but wise man lived in the city, ¹⁰ 

and he could have delivered ¹¹  the city by his wisdom,

but no one listened ¹²  to that poor man.

Isaiah 29:15

29:15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are as good as dead, ¹³ 

who do their work in secret and boast, ¹⁴ 

“Who sees us? Who knows what we’re doing?” ¹⁵ 

Hebrews 4:13

4:13 And no creature is hidden from God, ¹⁶  but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

[23:7]  ¹ tn The MT reading (“God has alienated him into my hand”) in v. 7 is a difficult and uncommon idiom. The use of this verb in Jer 19:4 is somewhat parallel, but not entirely so. Many scholars have therefore suspected a textual problem here, emending the word נִכַּר (nikkar, “alienated”) to סִכַּר (sikkar, “he has shut up [i.e., delivered]”). This is the idea reflected in the translations of the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate, although it is not entirely clear whether they are reading something different from the MT or are simply paraphrasing what for them too may have been a difficult text. The LXX has “God has sold him into my hands,” apparently reading מַכַר (makar, “sold”) for MT’s נִכַּר. The present translation is a rather free interpretation.

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “with two gates and a bar.” Since in English “bar” could be understood as a saloon, it has been translated as an attributive: “two barred gates.”

[62:1]  ³ sn Psalm 62. The psalmist expresses his unwavering confidence in God’s justice and in his ability to protect his people.

[62:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “only for God [is] there silence [to] my soul.”

[62:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “from him [is] my deliverance.”

[118:8]  ⁶ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[9:14]  ⁷ tn The verbs in this section function either as past definite actions (describing a past situation) or as hypothetical past actions (describing an imaginary hypothetical situation for the sake of illustration). The LXX uses subjunctives throughout vv. 14-15 to depict the scenario as a hypothetical situation: “Suppose there was a little city, and a few men [lived] in it; and there should come against it a great king, and surround it, and build great siege-works against it; and should find in it a poor wise man, and he should save the city through his wisdom; yet no man would remember that poor man.”

[9:14]  ⁸ tn The two perfect tense verbs וְסָבַב (vÿsavav, “he besieged”) and וּבָנָה (uvanah, “he built”) may be taken in a complementary sense, qualifying the action of the main perfect tense verb וּבָא (uva’, “he attacked it”).

[9:14]  ⁹ tn The root גדל (“mighty; strong; large”) is repeated in 9:13b for emphasis: “a mighty (גָדוֹל, gadol) king…building strong (גְדֹלִים, gÿdolim) siege works.” This repetition highlights the contrast between the vast power and resources of the attacking king, and the meager resources of the “little” (קְטַנָּה, qÿtannah) city with “few” (מְעָט, mÿ’at) men in it to defend it.

[9:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “was found in it”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:15]  ¹¹ tn Or “he delivered.” The verb וּמִלַּט (umillat, from מָלַט, malat, “to deliver”) is functioning either in an indicative sense (past definite action: “he delivered”) or in a modal sense (past potential: “he could have delivered”). The literal meaning of זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”) in the following line harmonizes with the indicative: “but no one remembered that poor man [afterward].” However, the modal is supported by v. 16: “A poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice.” This approach must nuance זָכַר (“to remember”) as “[no one] listened to [that poor man].” Most translations favor the indicative approach: “he delivered” or “he saved” (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, NIV); however, some adopt the modal nuance: “he might have saved” (NEB, NJPS, NASB margin).

[9:15]  ¹² tn Heb “remembered.”

[29:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “Woe [to] those who deeply hide counsel from the Lord.” This probably alludes to political alliances made without seeking the Lord’s guidance. See 30:1-2 and 31:1.

[29:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and their works are in darkness and they say.”

[29:15]  ¹⁵ tn The rhetorical questions suggest the answer, “no one.” They are confident that their deeds are hidden from others, including God.

[4:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.