1 Samuel 2:3

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ¹ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ²  evaluates what people do.

1 Samuel 12:21

12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty. ³ 

1 Samuel 15:29

15:29 The Preeminent One ⁴  of Israel does not go back on his word ⁵  or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.” ⁶ 

1 Samuel 18:20

18:20 Now Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it ⁷  pleased him.

1 Samuel 20:33

20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan ⁸  in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced ⁹  that his father had decided to kill David.

1 Samuel 24:20

24:20 Now look, I realize that you will in fact be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

1 Samuel 26:17

26:17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.”

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

[2:3]  ² tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

[12:21]  ³ tn Or “useless” (so NIV, NRSV, NLT); NAB “nothing”; NASB “futile”; TEV “are not real.”

[15:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “splendor,” used here by metonymy as a title for the Lord.

[15:29]  ⁵ tn Or perhaps “does not lie.”

[15:29]  ⁶ 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.

[18:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “the matter.”

[20:33]  ⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:33]  ⁹ tn Heb “knew.”