1 Samuel 27:1-2

David Aligns Himself with the Philistines

27:1 David thought to himself, ¹  “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.”

27:2 So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his six hundred men.

1 Samuel 15:14

15:14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case, ²  then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?”

1 Samuel 17:21-22

17:21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. 17:22 After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, ³  he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.

Proverbs 6:4-5

6:4 Permit no sleep to your eyes ⁴ 

or slumber to your eyelids.

6:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, ⁵ 

and like a bird from the trap ⁶  of the fowler.

Jeremiah 9:2

9:2 (9:1) I wish I had a lodging place in the desert

where I could spend some time like a weary traveler. ⁷ 

Then I would desert my people

and walk away from them

because they are all unfaithful to God,

a congregation ⁸  of people that has been disloyal to him. ⁹ 

Jeremiah 37:12

37:12 Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin. He wanted to make sure he got his share of the property that was being divided up among his family there. ¹⁰ 

[27:1]  ¹ tn Heb “said to his heart.”

[15:14]  ² tn The words “if that is the case” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[17:22]  ³ tn Heb “the guard of the equipment.”

[6:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “do not give sleep to your eyes.” The point is to go to the neighbor and seek release from the agreement immediately (cf. NLT “Don’t rest until you do”).

[6:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “from the hand.” Most translations supply “of the hunter.” The word “hand” can signify power, control; so the meaning is that of a gazelle freeing itself from a snare or a trap that a hunter set.

[6:5]  ⁶ tc Heb “hand” (so KJV, NAB, NRSV). Some mss and versions have it as “trap,” which may very well represent an interpretation too.

[9:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “I wish I had in the desert a lodging place [inn, or place to spend the night] for travelers.”

[9:2]  ⁸ tn Or “bunch,” but this loses the irony; the word is used for the solemn assemblies at the religious feasts.

[9:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “they are all adulterers, a congregation of unfaithful people.” However, spiritual adultery is, of course, meant, not literal adultery. So the literal translation would be misleading.

[37:12]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of this last sentence is somewhat uncertain. The Hebrew expression here occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible and its meaning is debated. The verb is pointed as a shortened form of the Hiphil infinitive construct of חָלַק (khalaq; see GKC 148 §53.q for explanation of the phenomenon and other examples). There are, however, no other examples of the use of this verb in the Hiphil. BDB 324 s.v. חָלַק Hiph defines it as “receive a portion” and explains it as a denominative from חֵלֶק (kheleq, “portion”) but says that the form is dubious. KBL s.v. חָלַק Hif defines it as “take part in dividing” but that does not fit the prepositional phrase that follows (מִשָּׁם, misham, “from there”) as well as “to receive a portion.” The Greek version did not understand this of dividing property but of conducting business. Later revisions of the Greek and the Latin version, however, did understand it of “taking a share.” The translation of BDB has been expanded to better reflect the probable situation. For the meaning of “his family” for the noun עַם (’am) compare the usage in Job 18:19. For a fuller discussion of the probable situation see J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 633-34.