1 Samuel 1:11

1:11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion ¹  on the suffering of your female servant, ²  remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child ³  to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.” ⁴ 

1 Samuel 2:14

2:14 He would jab it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot, and everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they used to do to all the Israelites ⁵  when they came there to Shiloh.

1 Samuel 2:22

2:22 Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel ⁶  and how they used to have sex with ⁷  the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

1 Samuel 2:28

2:28 I chose your ancestor ⁸  from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites.

1 Samuel 2:36

2:36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money ⁹  and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, ‘Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.’”

1 Samuel 4:13

4:13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of ¹⁰  the road, for he was very worried ¹¹  about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, ¹²  the whole city cried out.

1 Samuel 5:8

5:8 So they assembled ¹³  all the leaders of the Philistines and asked, “What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?” They replied, “The ark of the God of Israel should be moved to Gath.” So they moved the ark of the God of Israel.

1 Samuel 5:11

5:11 So they assembled ¹⁴  all the leaders of the Philistines and said, “Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won’t kill us ¹⁵  and our ¹⁶  people!” The terror ¹⁷  of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there. ¹⁸ 

1 Samuel 6:18

6:18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, ¹⁹  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 7:3

7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. ²⁰  Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you ²¹  from the hand of the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 9:6

9:6 But the servant said to him, “Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens. ²²  Now let’s go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here.” ²³ 

1 Samuel 9:20

9:20 Don’t be concerned ²⁴  about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father’s family?” ²⁵ 

1 Samuel 10:11

10:11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”

1 Samuel 10:18

10:18 He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power ²⁶  of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.

1 Samuel 10:25

10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. ²⁷  He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes.

1 Samuel 11:15

11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where ²⁸  they established Saul as king in the Lord’s presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord’s presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy.

1 Samuel 12:20

12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. ²⁹  However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart.

1 Samuel 13:22

13:22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

1 Samuel 14:24

Jonathan Violates Saul’s Oath

14:24 Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything.

1 Samuel 14:34

14:34 Then Saul said, “Scatter out among the army and say to them, ‘Each of you bring to me your ox and sheep and slaughter them in this spot and eat. But don’t sin against the Lord by eating the blood.” So that night each one brought his ox and slaughtered it there. ³⁰ 

1 Samuel 14:36

14:36 Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout ³¹  them until the break of day. ³²  We won’t leave any of them alive!” ³³  They replied, “Do whatever seems best to you.” ³⁴  But the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.”

1 Samuel 14:40

14:40 Then he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.” The army replied to Saul, “Do whatever you think is best.”

1 Samuel 15:3

15:3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare ³⁵  them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”

1 Samuel 15:6

15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, “Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away ³⁶  with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt.” So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 15:9

15:9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, ³⁷  and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. ³⁸  They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised ³⁹  and worthless.

1 Samuel 15:11

15:11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

1 Samuel 17:46

17:46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God

1 Samuel 18:5

18:5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul’s servants. ⁴⁰ 

1 Samuel 19:7

19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. ⁴¹ 

1 Samuel 19:18

19:18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth.

1 Samuel 19:24

19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there ⁴²  naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)

1 Samuel 20:31

20:31 For as long as ⁴³  this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men ⁴⁴  and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!” ⁴⁵ 

1 Samuel 22:2

22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented ⁴⁶  gathered around ⁴⁷  him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him.

1 Samuel 22:11

22:11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father’s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king.

1 Samuel 25:7

25:7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel.

1 Samuel 25:21

25:21 Now David had been thinking, ⁴⁸  “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the desert. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil.

1 Samuel 27:11

27:11 Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time ⁴⁹  that he lived in the country of the Philistines.

1 Samuel 28:2

28:2 David replied to Achish, “That being the case, you will come to know what your servant can do!” Achish said to David, “Then I will make you my bodyguard ⁵⁰  from now on.” ⁵¹ 

1 Samuel 28:20

28:20 Saul quickly fell full length on the ground and was very afraid because of Samuel’s words. He was completely drained of energy, ⁵²  not having eaten anything ⁵³  all that day and night.

1 Samuel 30:6

30:6 David was very upset, for the men ⁵⁴  were thinking of stoning him; ⁵⁵  each man grieved bitterly ⁵⁶  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:16

30:16 So he took David ⁵⁷  down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot ⁵⁸  they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

1 Samuel 30:19

30:19 There was nothing missing, whether small or great. He retrieved sons and daughters, the plunder, and everything else they had taken. ⁵⁹  David brought everything back.

[1:11]  ¹ tn Heb “if looking you look.” The expression can refer, as here, to looking favorably upon another, in this case with compassion.

[1:11]  ² tn Heb “handmaid.” The use of this term (translated two more times in this verse and once each in vv. 16, 17 simply as “servant” for stylistic reasons) is an expression of humility.

[1:11]  ³ tn Heb “seed of men.”

[1:11]  ⁴ tn Heb “a razor will not go up upon his head.”

[2:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “to all Israel.”

[2:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “lie with.”

[2:28]  ⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Eli’s ancestor, i.e., Aaron) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “a piece of silver” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[4:13]  ¹⁰ tc Read with many medieval Hebrew mss, the Qere, and much versional evidence יַד (yad, “hand”) rather than MT יַךְ (yakh).

[4:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “his heart was trembling.”

[4:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and the man came to report in the city.”

[5:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”

[5:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and they sent and gathered.”

[5:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “me.”

[5:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my.”

[5:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “panic.”

[5:11]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the hand of God was very heavy there.”

[6:18]  ¹⁹ tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”

[7:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the Ashtarot” (plural; also in the following verse). The words “images of” are supplied for clarity.

[7:3]  sn The Semitic goddess Astarte was associated with love and war in the ancient Near East. The presence of Ashtarot in Israel is a sign of pervasive pagan and idolatrous influences; hence Samuel calls for their removal. See 1 Sam 31:10, where the Philistines deposit the armor of the deceased Saul in the temple of the Ashtarot, and 1 Kgs 11:5, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13, where Solomon is faulted for worshiping the Ashtarot.

[7:3]  ²¹ tn Following imperatives, the jussive verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

[9:6]  ²² tn The infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis.

[9:6]  ²³ tn Heb “our way on which we have gone.”

[9:20]  ²⁴ tn Heb “do not fix your heart.”

[9:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and all the house of your father.”

[10:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “hand” (also later in this verse).

[10:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the regulation of the kingship.” This probably refers to the regulations pertaining to kingship given to Moses (see Deut 17:14-20).

[11:15]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and there in Gilgal.”

[12:20]  ²⁹ tn Heb “you have done all this evil.”

[14:34]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and all the army brought near, each his ox by his hand, and they slaughtered there.”

[14:36]  ³¹ tn Heb “plunder.”

[14:36]  ³² tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

[14:36]  ³³ tn Heb “and there will not be left among them a man.”

[14:36]  ³⁴ tn Heb “all that is good in your eyes.” So also in v. 40.

[15:3]  ³⁵ tn Or perhaps “don’t take pity on” (cf. CEV).

[15:6]  ³⁶ tc The translation follows the Syriac Peshitta and Vulgate which assume a reading אֶסִפְךָ (’esfÿka, “I sweep you away,” from the root ספה [sfh]) rather than the MT אֹסִפְךָ (’osifÿka, “I am gathering you,” from the root אסף[’sf]).

[15:9]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text is difficult here. We should probably read וְהַמַּשְׂמַנִּים (vÿhammasmannim, “the fat ones”) rather than the MT וְהַמִּשְׂנִים (vÿhammisnim, “the second ones”). However, if the MT is retained, the sense may be as the Jewish commentator Kimchi supposed: the second-born young, thought to be better than the firstlings. (For discussion see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 123-24.)

[15:9]  ³⁸ tn Heb “good.”

[15:9]  ³⁹ tc The MT has here the very odd form נְמִבְזָה (nÿmivzah), but this is apparently due to a scribal error. The translation follows instead the Niphal participle נִבְזָה (nivzah).

[18:5]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it was good in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of the servants of Saul.”

[19:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”

[19:24]  ⁴² tn Heb “and he fell down.”

[20:31]  ⁴³ tn Heb “all the days that.”

[20:31]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[20:31]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “a son of death.”

[22:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “bitter of soul.”

[22:2]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “to.”

[25:21]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “said.”

[27:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “all the days.”

[28:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “the guardian for my head.”

[28:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “all the days.”

[28:20]  ⁵² tn Heb “also there was no strength in him.”

[28:20]  ⁵³ tn Heb “food.”

[30:6]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “people.”

[30:6]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “said to stone him.”

[30:6]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”

[30:16]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:16]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”

[30:19]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “there was nothing missing to them, from the small even unto the great, and unto sons and daughters, and from loot even unto all which they had taken for themselves.”