2 Samuel 1:1-27
Konteks1:1 After the death of Saul, 1 when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, 2 he stayed at Ziklag 3 for two days. 1:2 On the third day a man arrived from the camp of Saul with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. 4 When he approached David, the man 5 threw himself to the ground. 6
1:3 David asked him, “Where are you coming from?” He replied, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 1:4 David inquired, “How were things going? 7 Tell me!” He replied, “The people fled from the battle and many of them 8 fell dead. 9 Even Saul and his son Jonathan are dead!” 1:5 David said to the young man 10 who was telling him this, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 11 1:6 The young man who was telling him this 12 said, “I just happened to be on Mount Gilboa and came across Saul leaning on his spear for support. The chariots and leaders of the horsemen were in hot pursuit of him. 1:7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me. I answered, ‘Here I am!’ 1:8 He asked me, ‘Who are you?’ I told him, ‘I’m 13 an Amalekite.’ 1:9 He said to me, ‘Stand over me and finish me off! 14 I’m very dizzy, 15 even though I’m still alive.’ 16 1:10 So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn’t live in such a condition. 17 Then I took the crown which was on his head and the 18 bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord.” 19
1:11 David then grabbed his own clothes 20 and tore them, as did all the men who were with him. 1:12 They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord’s people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.
1:13 David said to the young man who told this to him, “Where are you from?” He replied, “I am an Amalekite, the son of a resident foreigner.” 21 1:14 David replied to him, “How is it that you were not afraid to reach out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” 1:15 Then David called one of the soldiers 22 and said, “Come here and strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 1:16 David said to him, “Your blood be on your own head! Your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have put the Lord’s anointed to death.’”
1:17 Then David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan. 1:18 (He gave instructions that the people of Judah should be taught “The Bow.” 23 Indeed, it is written down in the Book of Yashar.) 24
1:19 The beauty 25 of Israel lies slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
1:20 Don’t report it in Gath,
don’t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon, 26
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!
1:21 O mountains of Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings! 27
For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; 28
the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil. 29
1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors,
the bow of Jonathan was not turned away.
The sword of Saul never returned 30 empty.
1:23 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved 31 during their lives,
and not even in their deaths were they separated.
They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.
1:24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet 32 as well as jewelry,
who put gold jewelry on your clothes.
1:25 How the warriors have fallen
in the midst of battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your high places!
1:26 I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!
You were very dear to me.
Your love was more special to me than the love of women.
1:27 How the warriors have fallen!
The weapons of war 33 are destroyed!
Yakobus 1:1-27
Konteks1:1 From James, 34 a slave 35 of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. 36 Greetings!
1:2 My brothers and sisters, 37 consider it nothing but joy 38 when you fall into all sorts of trials, 1:3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 1:4 And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything. 1:5 But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. 1:6 But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. 1:7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, 1:8 since he is a double-minded individual, 39 unstable in all his ways.
1:9 Now the believer 40 of humble means 41 should take pride 42 in his high position. 43 1:10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 44 1:11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. 45 So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. 1:12 Happy is the one 46 who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God 47 promised to those who love him. 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, 48 and he himself tempts no one. 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 1:15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. 1:16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. 49 1:17 All generous giving and every perfect gift 50 is from above, coming down 51 from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. 52 1:18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth 53 through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
1:19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! 54 Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger. 1:20 For human 55 anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 56 1:21 So put away all filth and evil excess and humbly 57 welcome the message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls. 1:22 But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves. 1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone 58 who gazes at his own face 59 in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets 60 what sort of person he was. 1:25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, 61 and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out – he 62 will be blessed in what he does. 63 1:26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before 64 God the Father 65 is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
[1:1] 1 sn This chapter is closely linked to 1 Sam 31. It should be kept in mind that 1 and 2 Samuel were originally a single book, not separate volumes. Whereas in English Bible tradition the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah are each regarded as two separate books, this was not the practice in ancient Hebrew tradition. Early canonical records, for example, counted them as single books respectively. The division into two books goes back to the Greek translation of the OT and was probably initiated because of the cumbersome length of copies due to the Greek practice (unlike that of Hebrew) of writing vowels. The present division into two books can be a little misleading in terms of perceiving the progression of the argument of the book; in some ways it is preferable to treat the books of 1-2 Samuel in a unified fashion.
[1:1] 2 sn The Amalekites were a nomadic people who inhabited Judah and the Transjordan. They are mentioned in Gen 36:15-16 as descendants of Amalek who in turn descended from Esau. In Exod 17:8-16 they are described as having acted in a hostile fashion toward Israel as the Israelites traveled to Canaan from Egypt. In David’s time the Amalekites were viewed as dangerous enemies who raided, looted, and burned Israelite cities (see 1 Sam 30).
[1:1] 3 sn Ziklag was a city in the Negev which had been given to David by Achish king of Gath. For more than a year David used it as a base from which he conducted military expeditions (see 1 Sam 27:5-12). According to 1 Sam 30:1-19, Ziklag was destroyed by the Amalekites while Saul fought the Philistines.
[1:2] 4 sn Tearing one’s clothing and throwing dirt on one’s head were outward expressions of grief in the ancient Near East, where such demonstrable reactions were a common response to tragic news.
[1:2] 5 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the man mentioned at the beginning of v. 2) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion as to who fell to the ground.
[1:2] 6 tn Heb “he fell to the ground and did obeisance.”
[1:4] 7 tn Heb “What was the word?”
[1:4] 8 tn Heb “from the people.”
[1:4] 9 tn Heb “fell and died.”
[1:5] 10 tn In v. 2 he is called simply a “man.” The word used here in v. 5 (so also in vv. 6, 13, 15), though usually referring to a young man or servant, may in this context designate a “fighting” man, i.e., a soldier.
[1:5] 11 tc Instead of the MT “who was recounting this to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’” the Syriac Peshitta reads “declare to me how Saul and his son Jonathan died.”
[1:6] 12 tc The Syriac Peshitta and one
[1:8] 13 tc The present translation reads with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[1:9] 14 tn As P. K. McCarter (II Samuel [AB], 59) points out, the Polel of the verb מוּת (mut, “to die”) “refers to dispatching or ‘finishing off’ someone already wounded and near death.” Cf. NLT “put me out of my misery.”
[1:9] 15 tn Heb “the dizziness has seized me.” On the meaning of the Hebrew noun translated “dizziness,” see P. K. McCarter, II Samuel (AB), 59-60. The point seems to be that he is unable to kill himself because he is weak and disoriented.
[1:9] 16 tn The Hebrew text here is grammatically very awkward (Heb “because all still my life in me”). Whether the broken construct phrase is due to the fact that the alleged speaker is in a confused state of mind as he is on the verge of dying, or whether the MT has sustained corruption in the transmission process, is not entirely clear. The former seems likely, although P. K. McCarter understands the MT to be the result of conflation of two shorter forms of text (P. K. McCarter, II Samuel [AB], 57, n. 9). Early translators also struggled with the verse, apparently choosing to leave part of the Hebrew text untranslated. For example, the Lucianic recension of the LXX lacks “all,” while other witnesses (namely, one medieval Hebrew
[1:10] 17 tn Heb “after his falling”; NAB “could not survive his wound”; CEV “was too badly wounded to live much longer.”
[1:10] 18 tc The MT lacks the definite article, but this is likely due to textual corruption. It is preferable to read the alef (א) of אֶצְעָדָה (’ets’adah) as a ה (he) giving הַצְּעָדָה (hatsÿ’adah). There is no reason to think that the soldier confiscated from Saul’s dead body only one of two or more bracelets that he was wearing (cf. NLT “one of his bracelets”).
[1:10] 19 sn The claims that the soldier is making here seem to contradict the story of Saul’s death as presented in 1 Sam 31:3-5. In that passage it appears that Saul took his own life, not that he was slain by a passerby who happened on the scene. Some scholars account for the discrepancy by supposing that conflicting accounts have been brought together in the MT. However, it is likely that the young man is here fabricating the account in a self-serving way so as to gain favor with David, or so he supposes. He probably had come across Saul’s corpse, stolen the crown and bracelet from the body, and now hopes to curry favor with David by handing over to him these emblems of Saul’s royalty. But in so doing the Amalekite greatly miscalculated David’s response to this alleged participation in Saul’s death. The consequence of his lies will instead be his own death.
[1:11] 20 tc The present translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
[1:13] 21 tn The Hebrew word used here refers to a foreigner whose social standing was something less than that of native residents of the land, but something more than that of a nonresident alien who was merely passing through.
[1:18] 23 tn Heb “be taught the bow.” The reference to “the bow” is very difficult here. Some interpreters (e.g., S. R. Driver, P. K. McCarter, Jr.) suggest deleting the word from the text (cf. NAB, TEV), but there does not seem to be sufficient evidence for doing so. Others (cf. KJV) understand the reference to be elliptical, meaning “the use of the bow.” The verse would then imply that with the deaths of Saul and Jonathan having occurred, a period of trying warfare is about to begin, requiring adequate preparation for war on the part of the younger generation. Various other views may also be found in the secondary literature. However, it seems best to understand the word here to be a reference to the name of a song (i.e., “The Bow”), most likely the poem that follows in vv. 19-27 (cf. ASV, NASB, NRSV, CEV, NLT); NIV “this lament of the bow.” To make this clear the words “the song of” are supplied in the translation.
[1:18] 24 sn The Book of Yashar is a noncanonical writing no longer in existence. It is referred to here and in Josh 10:12-13 and 1 Kgs 8:12-13. It apparently was “a collection of ancient national poetry” (so BDB 449 s.v. יָשָׁר).
[1:19] 25 sn The word beauty is used figuratively here to refer to Saul and Jonathan.
[1:20] 26 sn The cities of Gath and Ashkelon are mentioned here by synecdoche of part for the whole. As major Philistine cities they in fact represent all of Philistia. The point is that when the sad news of fallen Israelite leadership reaches the Philistines, it will be for these enemies of Israel the occasion of great joy rather than grief.
[1:21] 27 tc Instead of the MT’s “fields of grain offerings” the Lucianic recension of the LXX reads “your high places are mountains of death.” Cf. the Old Latin montes mortis (“mountains of death”).
[1:21] 28 tn This is the only biblical occurrence of the Niphal of the verb גָּעַל (ga’al). This verb usually has the sense of “to abhor” or “loathe.” But here it seems to refer to the now dirty and unprotected condition of a previously well-maintained instrument of battle.
[1:21] 29 tc It is preferable to read here Hebrew מָשׁוּחַ (mashuakh) with many Hebrew
[1:22] 30 tn The Hebrew imperfect verbal form is used here to indicate repeated past action.
[1:23] 31 tn Heb “beloved and dear.”
[1:24] 32 sn Clothing of scarlet was expensive and beyond the financial reach of most people.
[1:27] 33 sn The expression weapons of war may here be a figurative way of referring to Saul and Jonathan.
[1:1] 34 tn Grk “James.” The word “From” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:1] 35 tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:1] sn Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isa 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities, including such great men as Moses (Josh 14:7), David (Ps 89:3; cf. 2 Sam 7:5, 8) and Elijah (2 Kgs 10:10); all these men were “servants (or slaves) of the Lord.”
[1:1] 36 tn Grk “to the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” The Greek term διασπορά (diaspora, “dispersion”) refers to Jews not living in Palestine but “dispersed” or scattered among the Gentiles.
[1:2] 37 tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited). Where the plural term is used in direct address, as here, “brothers and sisters” is used; where the term is singular and not direct address (as in v. 9), “believer” is preferred.
[1:2] 38 tn Grk “all joy,” “full joy,” or “greatest joy.”
[1:8] 39 tn Grk “a man of two minds,” continuing the description of the person in v. 7, giving the reason that he cannot expect to receive anything. The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person,” as here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2).
[1:8] sn A double-minded man is one whose devotion to God is less than total. His attention is divided between God and other things, and as a consequence he is unstable and therefore unable to receive from God.
[1:9] 40 tn Grk “brother.” Here the term “brother” means “fellow believer” or “fellow Christian” (cf. TEV, NLT “Christians”; CEV “God’s people”). The term broadly connotes familial relationships within the family of God (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.a).
[1:9] 41 tn Grk “the lowly brother,” but “lowly/humble” is clarified in context by the contrast with “wealthy” in v. 10.
[1:9] 42 tn Grk “let him boast.”
[1:9] 43 tn Grk “his height,” “his exaltation.”
[1:10] 44 tn Grk “a flower of grass.”
[1:11] 45 tn Or “perishes,” “is destroyed.”
[1:12] 46 tn The word for “man” or “individual” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”
[1:12] 47 tc Most
[1:13] 48 tn Or “God must not be tested by evil people.”
[1:16] 49 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
[1:17] 50 tn The first phrase refers to the action of giving and the second to what is given.
[1:17] 51 tn Or “All generous giving and every perfect gift from above is coming down.”
[1:17] 52 tn Grk “variation or shadow of turning” (referring to the motions of heavenly bodies causing variations of light and darkness).
[1:18] 53 tn Grk “Having willed, he gave us birth.”
[1:19] 54 tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.
[1:20] 55 tn The word translated “human” here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” But it sometimes is used generically to mean “anyone,” “a person” (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 2), and in this context, contrasted with “God’s righteousness,” the point is “human” anger (not exclusively “male” anger).
[1:20] 56 sn God’s righteousness could refer to (1) God’s righteous standard, (2) the righteousness God gives, (3) righteousness before God, or (4) God’s eschatological righteousness (see P. H. Davids, James [NIGTC], 93, for discussion).
[1:21] 57 tn Or “with meekness.”
[1:23] 58 tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”
[1:23] 59 tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”
[1:24] 60 tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”
[1:25] 63 tn Grk “in his doing.”
