1 Samuel 9:3

9:3 The donkeys of Saul’s father Kish wandered off, ¹  so Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go ²  look for the donkeys.” ³ 

1 Samuel 13:14

13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out ⁴  for himself a man who is loyal to him ⁵  and the Lord has appointed ⁶  him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”

1 Samuel 14:4

14:4 Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh.

1 Samuel 16:16

16:16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre ⁷  and you will feel better.” ⁸ 

1 Samuel 20:1

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, ⁹  “What have I done? What is my offense? ¹⁰  How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”

1 Samuel 25:26

25:26 “Now, my lord, as surely as the Lord lives and as surely as you live, it is the Lord who has kept you from shedding blood and taking matters into your own hands. Now may your enemies and those who seek to harm my lord be like Nabal.

1 Samuel 25:29

25:29 When someone sets out to chase you and to take your life, the life of my lord will be wrapped securely in the bag ¹¹  of the living by the Lord your God. But he will sling away the lives of your enemies from the sling’s pocket!

1 Samuel 26:20

26:20 Now don’t let my blood fall to the ground away from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has gone out to look for a flea the way one looks for a partridge ¹²  in the hill country.”

1 Samuel 27:1

David Aligns Himself with the Philistines

27:1 David thought to himself, ¹³  “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.”

1 Samuel 28:7

28:7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, ¹⁴  so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”

[9:3]  ¹ tn Heb “became lost.”

[9:3]  ² tn Heb “and arise, go.”

[9:3]  ³ tc The Syriac Peshitta includes the following words: “So Saul arose and went out. He took with him one of the boys and went out to look for his father’s donkeys.”

[13:14]  ⁴ tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.

[13:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.

[13:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “commanded.”

[16:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he will play with his hand.”

[16:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “and it will be better for you.”

[20:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”

[20:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “What is my guilt?”

[25:29]  ¹³ tn Cf. KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV “bundle”; NLT “treasure pouch.”

[26:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.

[27:1]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “said to his heart.”

[28:7]  ²² tn Heb “an owner of a ritual pit.” See the note at v. 3.