1tn Heb “upon the face of.” 2tn Heb “after.” 3tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.” 4tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse. 5tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.” 6tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23). 7tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.” 8tn Heb “you are sons of death.” 9tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?” 10tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21. 11tn Heb “but if the sons of men.” 12tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge. 13tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.” 14tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.” 15tn Heb “and the Lord returns to the man his righteousness and his faithfulness.” 16tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.” 17tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the Lord.” 18tn Heb “blessed.” 19tn 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.
1tn Heb “upon the face of.”
2tn Heb “after.”
3tn Heb “and David sent scouts and he knew that Saul had certainly come.”
4tn Here “the spear” almost certainly refers to Saul’s own spear, which according to the previous verse was stuck into the ground beside him as he slept. This is reflected in a number of English versions: TEV, CEV “his own spear”; NLT “that spear.” Cf. NIV, NCV “my spear,” in which case Abishai refers to his own spear rather than Saul’s, but this is unlikely since (1) Abishai would probably not have carried a spear along since such a weapon would be unwieldy when sneaking into the enemy camp; and (2) this would not explain the mention of Saul’s own spear stuck in the ground beside him in the previous verse.
5tn Heb “let me strike him with the spear and into the ground one time.”
6tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).
7tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”
8tn Heb “you are sons of death.”
9tn Heb “What in my hand [is] evil?”
10tn Heb “may he smell.” The implication is that Saul should seek to appease God, for such divine instigation to evil would a sign of God’s disfavor. For a fuller discussion of this passage see R. B. Chisholm, Jr., “Does God Deceive?” BSac 155 (1998): 19-21.
11tn Heb “but if the sons of men.”
12tn Heb “the calling [one],” which apparently refers to a partridge.
13tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”
14tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”
15tn Heb “and the Lord returns to the man his righteousness and his faithfulness.”
16tn Heb “your life was great this day in my eyes.”
17tn Heb “may my life be great in the eyes of the Lord.”
18tn Heb “blessed.”
19tn 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.