1 Samuel 6:19

6:19 But the Lord ¹  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ²  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

1 Samuel 9:2

9:2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people.

1 Samuel 9:7

9:7 So Saul said to his servant, “All right, ³  we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”

1 Samuel 9:24

9:24 So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel ⁴  said, “What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, ‘I have invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

1 Samuel 13:6

13:6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, ⁵  and cisterns.

1 Samuel 19:4

19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf ⁶  to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial ⁷  for you.

1 Samuel 20:2

20:2 Jonathan ⁸  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ⁹  large or small without making me aware of it. ¹⁰  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

1 Samuel 20:13

20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know ¹¹  and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. ¹²  May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father.

1 Samuel 22:15

22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse ¹³  his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” ¹⁴ 

1 Samuel 29:3

29:3 The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? ¹⁵  I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!” ¹⁶ 

[6:19]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:19]  ² tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.

[9:7]  ³ tn Heb “look.”

[9:24]  ⁴ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 25); the referent (Samuel) has been specified in both places in the translation for clarity.

[13:6]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “vaults.” This rare term also occurs in Judg 9:46, 49. Cf. KJV “high places”; ASV “coverts”; NAB “caverns”; NASB “cellars”; NIV, NCV, TEV “pits”; NRSV, NLT “tombs.”

[19:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”

[19:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “good.”

[20:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ⁹ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

[20:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

[20:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “uncover your ear.”

[20:13]  ¹² tn Heb “in peace.”

[22:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “set a matter against.”

[22:15]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “small or great.”

[29:3]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “these days or these years.”

[29:3]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from the day of his falling [away] until this day.”