1 Samuel 14:44

14:44 Saul said, “God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn’t die!” ¹ 

1 Samuel 20:7

20:7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’ ²  then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. ³ 

1 Samuel 23:1

David Delivers the City of Keilah

23:1 They told David, “The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.”

1 Samuel 25:6

25:6 Then you will say to my brother, ⁴  “Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours!

1 Samuel 25:22

25:22 God will severely punish David, ⁵  if I leave alive until morning even one male ⁶  from all those who belong to him!”

[14:44]  ¹ tn Heb “So God will do and so he will add, surely you will certainly die, Jonathan.”

[20:7]  ² tn Heb “good.”

[20:7]  ³ tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”

[25:6]  ⁴ tc The text is difficult here. The MT and most of the early versions support the reading לֶחָי (lekhai, “to life,” or “to the one who lives”). Some of the older English versions (KJV, ASV; cf. NKJV) took the expression to mean “to him who lives (in prosperity),” but this translation requires reading a good deal into the words. While the expression could have the sense of “Long life to you!” (cf. NIV, NJPS) or perhaps “Good luck to you!” this seems somewhat redundant in light of the salutation that follows in the context. The Latin Vulgate has fratribus meis (“to my brothers”), which suggests that Jerome understood the Hebrew word to have an alef that is absent in the MT (i.e., לֶאֱחָי, le’ekhay). Jerome’s plural, however, remains a problem, since in the context David is addressing a single individual, namely Nabal, and not a group. However, it is likely that the Vulgate witnesses to a consonantal Hebrew text that is to be preferred here, especially if the word were to be revocalized as a singular rather than a plural. While it is impossible to be certain about this reading, the present translation essentially follows the Vulgate in reading “my brother” (so also NJB; cf. NAB, RSV, NRSV).

[25:22]  ⁵ tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek ms tradition has simply “David,” with no reference to his enemies. In OT imprecations such as the one found in v. 22 it is common for the speaker to direct malediction toward himself as an indication of the seriousness with which he regards the matter at hand. In other words, the speaker invites on himself dire consequences if he fails to fulfill the matter expressed in the oath. However, in the situation alluded to in v. 22 the threat actually does not come to fruition due to the effectiveness of Abigail’s appeal to David in behalf of her husband Nabal. Instead, David is placated through Abigail’s intervention. It therefore seems likely that the reference to “the enemies of David” in the MT of v. 22 is the result of a scribal attempt to deliver David from the implied consequences of this oath. The present translation follows the LXX rather than the MT here.

[25:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.”