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 2:30

2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say ⁵  that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve ⁶  me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be! ⁷  For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed!

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. ⁸ 

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

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.

³ tn Heb “seed of men.”

⁴ tn Heb “a razor will not go up upon his head.”

⁵ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

⁶ tn Heb “walk about before.”

⁷ tn Heb “may it be far removed from me.”

⁸ tn Heb “and he did not die.”