1 Samuel 12:16

12:16 “So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight.

1 Samuel 2:17

2:17 The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they ¹  treated the Lord’s offering with contempt.

1 Samuel 2:26

2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.

1 Samuel 3:19

3:19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled. ² 

1 Samuel 30:2

30:2 They took captive the women who were in it, from the youngest to the oldest, but they did not kill anyone. They simply carried them off and went on their way.

1 Samuel 2:21

2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord’s sanctuary. ³ 

1 Samuel 14:33

14:33 Now it was reported to Saul, “Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood.” He said, “All of you have broken the covenant! ⁴  Roll a large stone over here to me.”

1 Samuel 19:22

19:22 Finally Saul ⁵  himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”

1 Samuel 1:16

1:16 Don’t consider your servant a wicked woman, ⁶  for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish.”

1 Samuel 5:9

5:9 But after it had been moved the Lord attacked ⁷  that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city ⁸  with sores. ⁹ 

1 Samuel 4:10

4:10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home. ¹⁰  The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle.

1 Samuel 12:24

12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you!

1 Samuel 14:30

14:30 Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies’ provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”

1 Samuel 19:8

19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly ¹¹  and they ran away from him.

1 Samuel 6:14

6:14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.

1 Samuel 12:17

12:17 Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves.”

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, ¹²  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 23:5

23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. ¹³  David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah.

1 Samuel 4:17

4:17 The messenger replied, “Israel has fled from ¹⁴  the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!”

1 Samuel 20:2

20:2 Jonathan ¹⁵  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ¹⁶  large or small without making me aware of it. ¹⁷  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

1 Samuel 30:16

30:16 So he took David ¹⁸  down, and they found them spread out over the land. They were eating and drinking and enjoying themselves because of all the loot ¹⁹  they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.

1 Samuel 19:5

19:5 He risked his life ²⁰  when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”

1 Samuel 6:19

6:19 But the Lord ²¹  struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 ²²  of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

1 Samuel 14:45

14:45 But the army said to Saul, “Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today.” So the army rescued Jonathan from death. ²³ 

1 Samuel 6:9

6:9 But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident.”

1 Samuel 10:1

Samuel Anoints Saul

10:1 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s ²⁴  head. Samuel ²⁵  kissed him and said, “The Lord has chosen you ²⁶  to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord’s people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen ²⁷  you as leader over his inheritance. ²⁸ 

1 Samuel 13:7

13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River ²⁹  to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified.

1 Samuel 19:4

19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf ³⁰  to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial ³¹  for you.

1 Samuel 25:30

25:30 The Lord will do for my lord everything that he promised you, ³²  and he will make ³³  you a leader over Israel.

1 Samuel 9:16

9:16 “At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate ³⁴  him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!”

1 Samuel 13:14

13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out ³⁵  for himself a man who is loyal to him ³⁶  and the Lord has appointed ³⁷  him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you.”

1 Samuel 6:15

6:15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord.

1 Samuel 17:25

17:25 The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so ³⁸  to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father’s house exempt from tax obligations in Israel.”

1 Samuel 12:22

12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. ³⁹  The Lord was pleased to make you his own people.

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. ⁴⁰  David brought everything back.

1 Samuel 17:7

17:7 The shaft ⁴¹  of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. ⁴²  His shield bearer was walking before him.

1 Samuel 9:22

9:22 Then Samuel brought ⁴³  Saul and his servant into the room and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty people present.

1 Samuel 14:52

14:52 There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him.

1 Samuel 17:13

17:13 Jesse’s three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the ⁴⁴  three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest.

1 Samuel 26:25

26:25 Saul replied to David, “May you be rewarded, ⁴⁵  my son David! You will without question be successful!” ⁴⁶  So David went on his way, and Saul returned to his place.

1 Samuel 17:14

17:14 Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul,

1 Samuel 23:16

23:16 Then Jonathan son of Saul left and went to David at Horesh. He encouraged him ⁴⁷  through God.

1 Samuel 28:5

28:5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified. ⁴⁸ 

1 Samuel 22:15

22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse ⁴⁹  his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” ⁵⁰ 

1 Samuel 25:36

25:36 When Abigail went back to Nabal, he was holding a banquet in his house like that of the king. Nabal was having a good time ⁵¹  and was very intoxicated. She told him absolutely nothing ⁵²  until morning’s light.

1 Samuel 1:5

1:5 But he would give a double ⁵³  portion to Hannah, because he especially loved her. ⁵⁴  Now the Lord had not enabled her to have children. ⁵⁵ 

1 Samuel 1:17

1:17 Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.”

1 Samuel 4:5

4:5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly ⁵⁶  that the ground shook.

1 Samuel 14:48

14:48 He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. ⁵⁷ 

1 Samuel 26:13

26:13 Then David crossed to the other side and stood on the top of the hill some distance away; there was a considerable distance between them.

1 Samuel 2:1

Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer

2:1 Hannah prayed, ⁵⁸ 

“My heart rejoices in the Lord;

my horn ⁵⁹  is exalted high because of the Lord.

I loudly denounce ⁶⁰  my enemies,

for I am happy that you delivered me. ⁶¹ 

1 Samuel 2:33

2:33 Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your ⁶²  eyes to fail ⁶³  and will cause you grief. ⁶⁴  All of those born to your family ⁶⁵  will die in the prime of life. ⁶⁶ 

1 Samuel 3:14

3:14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ‘The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.’”

1 Samuel 4:6

4:6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, “What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?” Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp.

1 Samuel 9:1

Samuel Meets with Saul

9:1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person.

1 Samuel 14:14

14:14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.

1 Samuel 14:20

14:20 Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found ⁶⁷  the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. ⁶⁸ 

1 Samuel 17:33

17:33 But Saul replied to David, “You aren’t able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You’re just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!”

1 Samuel 6:17

6:17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord – one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.

1 Samuel 12:2

12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day.

1 Samuel 13:5

13:5 For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 ⁶⁹  chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven.

1 Samuel 14:6

14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene ⁷⁰  for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.”

1 Samuel 20:41

20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, ⁷¹  knelt ⁷²  with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.

1 Samuel 21:11

21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying,

‘Saul struck down his thousands,

But David his tens of thousands’?”

1 Samuel 25:2

David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal

25:2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy; ⁷³  he owned three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

1 Samuel 25:8

25:8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come ⁷⁴  at the time of a holiday. Please provide us – your servants ⁷⁵  and your son David – with whatever you can spare.” ⁷⁶ 

1 Samuel 26:15

26:15 David said to Abner, “Aren’t you a man? After all, who is like you in Israel? Why then haven’t you protected your lord the king? One of the soldiers came to kill your lord the king.

1 Samuel 26:21

26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value ⁷⁷  this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” ⁷⁸ 

1 Samuel 30:6

30:6 David was very upset, for the men ⁷⁹  were thinking of stoning him; ⁸⁰  each man grieved bitterly ⁸¹  over his sons and daughters. But David drew strength from the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 28:15

28:15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me – not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”

[2:17]  ¹ tc Heb “the men,” which is absent from one medieval Hebrew ms, a Qumran ms, and the LXX.

[3:19]  ² tn Heb “and he did not cause to fall from all his words to the ground.”

[2:21]  ³ tn Heb “with the Lord.” Cf. NAB, TEV “in the service of the Lord”; NIV, NRSV, NLT “in the presence of the Lord”; CEV “at the Lord’s house in Shiloh.”

[14:33]  ⁴ tn Heb “You have acted deceptively.” In this context the verb refers to violating an agreement, in this case the dietary and sacrificial regulations of the Mosaic law. The verb form is second masculine plural; apparently Saul here addresses those who are eating the animals.

[19:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “daughter of worthlessness.”

[5:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “the hand of the Lord was against the city.”

[5:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he struck the men of the city from small and to great.”

[5:9]  ⁹ tn See the note on this term in v. 6. Cf. KJV “and they had emerods in their secret parts.”

[4:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and they fled, each to his tents.”

[19:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”

[6:18]  ¹² tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”

[23:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and struck them down with a great blow.”

[4:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “before.”

[20:2]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ¹⁶ tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

[20:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

[30:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “him”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[30:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “because of all the large plunder.”

[19:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”

[6:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:19]  ²² tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.

[14:45]  ²³ tn Heb “and he did not die.”

[10:1]  ²⁴ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Samuel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Is it not that the Lord has anointed you?” The question draws attention to the fact and is a rhetorical way of affirming the Lord’s choice of Saul. The translation reflects the rhetorical force of the question.

[10:1]  ²⁷ tn That is, “anointed.”

[10:1]  ²⁸ tc The MT reads simply “Is it not that the Lord has anointed you over his inheritance for a leader?” The translation follows the LXX. The MT apparently suffers from parablepsis, whereby a scribe’s eye jumped from the first occurrence of the expression “the Lord has anointed you” to the second occurrence of this expression at the end of v. 1. This mistake caused the accidental omission of the intervening material in the LXX, which appears to preserve the original Hebrew text here.

[13:7]  ²⁹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[19:4]  ³⁰ tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”

[19:4]  ³¹ tn Heb “good.”

[25:30]  ³² tn Heb “according to all which he spoke, the good concerning you.”

[25:30]  ³³ tn Heb “appoint.”

[9:16]  ³⁴ tn Heb “anoint.”

[13:14]  ³⁵ tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.

[13:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.

[13:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “commanded.”

[17:25]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he is coming up.”

[12:22]  ³⁹ tn Heb “on account of his great name.”

[30:19]  ⁴⁰ 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.”

[17:7]  ⁴¹ tn The translation follows the Qere and many medieval Hebrew mss in reading “wood,” rather than the “arrow” (the reading of the Kethib).

[17:7]  ⁴² sn That is, about fifteen or sixteen pounds.

[9:22]  ⁴³ tn Heb “took and brought.”

[17:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “his.”

[26:25]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “blessed.”

[26:25]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “you will certainly do and also you will certainly be able.” The infinitive absolutes placed before the finite verbal forms lend emphasis to the statement.

[23:16]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “strengthened his hand.”

[28:5]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “he was afraid, and his heart was very terrified.”

[22:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “set a matter against.”

[22:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “small or great.”

[25:36]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “and the heart of Nabal was good upon him”; NASB, NRSV “Nabal’s heart was merry within him”; NIV “he was in high spirits”; NCV, TEV “was in a good mood”; CEV “was very drunk and feeling good.”

[25:36]  ⁵² tn Heb “and she did not tell him a thing, small or large.”

[1:5]  ⁵³ tn The exact sense of the Hebrew word אַפָּיִם (’appayim, “two faces”) is not certain here. It is most likely used with the preceding expression (“one portion of two faces”) to mean a portion double than normally received. Although evidence for this use of the word derives primarily from Aramaic rather than from Hebrew usage, it provides an understanding that fits the context here better than other suggestions for the word do. The meaning “double” is therefore adopted in the present translation. Other possibilities for the meaning of the word include the following: “heavily” (cf. Vulg., tristis) and “worthy” or “choice” (cf. KJV and Targum). Some scholars have followed the LXX here, emending the word to אֶפֶס (’efes) and translating it as “but” or “however.” This seems unnecessary. The translators of the LXX may simply have been struggling to make sense of the word rather than following a Hebrew text that was different from the MT here.

[1:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “for Hannah he loved.” Repetition of the proper name would seem redundant in contemporary English, so the pronoun (“her”) has been used here for clarity. The translation also adds the adverb “especially” to clarify the meaning of the text. Without this addition one might get the impression that only Hannah, not Peninnah, was loved by her husband. But the point of the text is that Hannah was his favorite.

[1:5]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and the Lord had closed her womb.” So also in v. 6. The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information that is pertinent to the story.

[4:5]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “shouted [with] a great shout.”

[14:48]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “plunderers.”

[2:1]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “prayed and said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

[2:1]  ⁵⁹ sn Horns of animals have always functioned as both offensive and defensive weapons for them. As a figure of speech the horn is therefore often used in the Bible as a symbol of human strength (see also in v. 10). The allusion in v. 1 to the horn being lifted high suggests a picture of an animal elevating its head in a display of strength or virility.

[2:1]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “my mouth opens wide against.”

[2:1]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “for I rejoice in your deliverance.”

[2:33]  ⁶² tc The LXX, a Qumran ms, and a few old Latin mss have the third person pronominal suffix “his” here.

[2:33]  ⁶³ tn Heb “to cause your eyes to fail.” Elsewhere this verb, when used of eyes, refers to bloodshot eyes resulting from weeping, prolonged staring, or illness (see Lev 26:16; Pss 69:3; 119:82; Lam 2:11; 4:17).

[2:33]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and to cause your soul grief.”

[2:33]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and all the increase of your house.”

[2:33]  ⁶⁶ tc The text is difficult. The MT literally says “they will die [as] men.” Apparently the meaning is that they will be cut off in the prime of their life without reaching old age. The LXX and a Qumran ms, however, have the additional word “sword” (“they will die by the sword of men”). This is an easier reading (cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but that fact is not in favor of its originality.

[14:20]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “and look, there was”

[14:20]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “the sword of a man against his companion, a very great panic.”

[13:5]  ⁶⁹ tn Many English versions (e.g., KJV, NASB, NRSV, TEV) read “30,000” here.

[14:6]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “act.”

[20:41]  ⁷¹ tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.

[20:41]  ⁷² tn Heb “fell.”

[25:2]  ⁷³ tn Heb “great.”

[25:8]  ⁷⁴ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading בָּאנוּ (ba’nu, “we have come”) rather than the MT’s בָּנוּ (banu, “we have built”).

[25:8]  ⁷⁵ tn This refers to the ten servants sent by David.

[25:8]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “whatever your hand will find.”

[26:21]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”

[26:21]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”

[30:6]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “people.”

[30:6]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “said to stone him.”

[30:6]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “for bitter was the soul of all the people, each one.”