2tnHeb “ones armed with bow[s], using the right hand and the left hand with stones and with arrows with the bow, from the brothers of Saul from Benjamin.”
3tn The words “These were” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons, because of the length of the intervening material since the beginning of the verse.
4sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) a verse division occurs at this point, and for the remainder of the chapter the verse numbers of the Hebrew Bible differ by one from the English Bible. Thus 1 Chr 12:4b ET = 12:5 HT, and 12:5-40 ET = 12:6-41 HT. Beginning with 13:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
5tnHeb “warriors, men of battle for war, prepared with shield and spear, and [like] the face of a lion were their faces, and like gazelles on the hills to hurry.”
6tnHeb “one for a hundred the small, and the great for a thousand.” Another option is to translate the preposition -לְ (lamed) as “against” and to understand this as a hyperbolic reference to their prowess: “the least could stand against a hundred, the greatest against a thousand.”
7tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
8sn That is, March-April.
9tnHeb “and they chased all the valleys to the east and to the west.”
10tnHeb “and David went out before them and answered and said to them.”
11tnHeb “there will be to me concerning you a heart for unity.”
12tnHeb “with no violence in my hands.”
13tnHeb “fathers.”
14tn Perhaps “the Spirit,” but the text has simply רוּחַ (ruakh) with no article (suggesting an indefinite reference).
15tnHeb “clothed.”
16tn The words “and he said” are supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
17tnHeb “are with.”
18tnHeb “Peace, peace to you.” The Hebrew term שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is repeated to emphasize degree.
19tnHeb “and peace to the one who helps you.”
20tn Or “for.”
21tnHeb “fell upon,” here in a good sense.
22tnHeb “and they did not help them for by counsel they sent him away, the lords of the Philistines, saying, ‘With our heads he will fall to his master Saul.’”
23tnHeb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
24tnHeb “for at the time of day in a day they were coming to David to help him until [there was] a great camp like the camp of God.” The term אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) is probably used idiomatically here to indicate the superlative.
25tnHeb “these are the numbers of the heads of the forces armed for battle [who] came to David in Hebron to turn over the kingdom of Saul to him according to the mouth of the Lord.”
26tnHeb “the sons of Judah, carrying shield and spear, [were] 6,800 armed for battle.”
27tnHeb “from the sons of Benjamin, the brothers of Saul.”
28tnHeb “and until then, the majority of them were keeping the charge of the house of Saul.”
29tnHeb “men of names for the house of their fathers.”
30tnHeb “from the sons of Issachar, knowers of understanding for times to know what Israel should do, their heads [were] 200, and all their brothers according to their mouth.”
31tnHeb “from Zebulun, those going out for battle, prepared for war with all weapons of war, 50,000, and to help without a heart and a heart.”
32tcHeb “all these [were] men of war, helpers of the battle line.” The present translation assumes an emendation of עֹדְרֵי (’od˙rey, “helpers of”) to עֹרְכֵי, (’or˙khey, “prepared for”).
33tnHeb “with a complete heart they came to Hebron to make David king over all Israel.”
34tnHeb “and also all the rest of Israel [was of] one mind to make David king.”