1 Samuel 10:27

10:27 But some wicked men ¹  said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. ² 

1 Samuel 10:2

10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin’s border. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two! ³  He is asking, “What should I do about my son?”’

1 Tawarikh 9:24

9:24 The gatekeepers were posted on all four sides – east, west, north, and south.

Mazmur 68:19

68:19 The Lord deserves praise! ⁴ 

Day after day ⁵  he carries our burden,

the God who delivers us. (Selah)

Mazmur 68:30

68:30 Sound your battle cry ⁶  against the wild beast of the reeds, ⁷ 

and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! ⁸ 

They humble themselves ⁹  and offer gold and silver as tribute. ¹⁰ 

God ¹¹  scatters ¹²  the nations that like to do battle.

[10:27]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of worthlessness” (see 2:12).

[10:27]  ² tc In place of the MT (“and it was like one being silent”) the LXX has “after about a month,” taking the expression with the first part of the following chapter rather than with 10:27. Some Hebrew support for this reading appears in the corrected hand of a Qumran ms of Samuel, which has here “about a month.” However, it seems best to stay with the MT here even though it is difficult.

[10:2]  ³ sn In the Hebrew text the pronoun you is plural, suggesting that Saul’s father was concerned about his son and the servant who accompanied him.

[68:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “blessed [be] the Lord.”

[68:19]  ⁵ tn It is possible to take this phrase with what precedes (“The Lord deserves praise day after day”) rather than with what follows.

[68:30]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb גָּעַר (ga’ar) is often understood to mean “rebuke.” In some cases it is apparent that scolding or threatening is in view (see Gen 37:10; Ruth 2:16; Zech 3:2). However, in militaristic contexts such as Ps 68 this translation is inadequate, for the verb refers in this setting to the warrior’s battle cry, which terrifies and paralyzes the enemy. See A. Caquot, TDOT 3:53, and note the use of the verb in Ps 106:9 and Nah 1:4, as well as the related noun in Job 26:11; Pss 18:15; 76:6; 104:7; Isa 50:2; 51:20; 66:15.

[68:30]  ⁷ sn The wild beast of the reeds probably refers to a hippopotamus, which in turn symbolizes the nation of Egypt.

[68:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “an assembly of bulls, with calves of the nations.”

[68:30]  ⁹ tn Heb “humbling himself.” The verb form is a Hitpael participle from the root רָפַס (rafas, “to trample”). The Hitpael of this verb appears only here and in Prov 6:3, where it seems to mean, “humble oneself,” a nuance that fits nicely in this context. The apparent subject is “wild beast” or “assembly,” though both of these nouns are grammatically feminine, while the participle is a masculine form. Perhaps one should emend the participial form to a masculine plural (מִתְרַפִּם, mitrapim) and understand “bulls” or “calves” as the subject.

[68:30]  ¹⁰ tc Heb “with pieces [?] of silver.” The meaning of the Hebrew term רַצֵּי (ratsey) is unclear. It is probably best to emend the text to בֶּצֶר וְכָסֶף (betser vÿkhasef, “[with] gold and silver”).

[68:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[68:30]  ¹² tn The verb בָּזַר (bazar) is an alternative form of פָּזַר (pazar, “scatter”).