1 Samuel 1:18

1:18 She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and got something to eat. Her face no longer looked sad.

1 Samuel 1:26

1:26 She said, “Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the Lord.

1 Samuel 2:23

2:23 He said to them, “Why do you behave in this way? For I hear about these evil things from all these people.

1 Samuel 3:11

3:11 The Lord said to Samuel, “Look! I am about to do something in Israel; when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle.

1 Samuel 3:18

3:18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli said, “The Lord will do what he pleases.”

1 Samuel 4:7

4:7 The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp. They said, “Too bad for us! We’ve never seen anything like this!

1 Samuel 7:8

7:8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep crying out to the Lord our God so that he may save us 10  from the hand of the Philistines!”

1 Samuel 8:6

8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for 11  they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord.

1 Samuel 8:19

8:19 But the people refused to heed Samuel’s warning. 12  Instead they said, “No! There will be a king over us!

1 Samuel 9:17-18

9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, 13  “Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people.” 9:18 As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.”

1 Samuel 9:23

9:23 Samuel said to the cook, “Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you – the one I asked you to keep with you.”

1 Samuel 10:22

10:22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Has the man arrived here yet?” The Lord said, “He has hidden himself among the equipment.” 14 

1 Samuel 11:1

Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh

11:1 15 Nahash 16  the Ammonite marched 17  against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us and we will serve you.”

1 Samuel 11:10

11:10 The men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you 18  and you can do with us whatever you wish.” 19 

1 Samuel 11:12

Saul Is Established as King

11:12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who were the ones asking, ‘Will Saul reign over us?’ Hand over those men so we may execute them!”

1 Samuel 12:6

12:6 Samuel said to the people, “The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors 20  up from the land of Egypt.

1 Samuel 13:19

13:19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears.”

1 Samuel 14:7

14:7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do everything that is on your mind. 21  Do as you’re inclined. I’m with you all the way!” 22 

1 Samuel 14:11

14:11 When they 23  made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.”

1 Samuel 14:19

14:19 While 24  Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines’ camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand!”

1 Samuel 14:29

14:29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed 25  when I tasted just a little of this honey.

1 Samuel 15:1

Saul Is Rejected as King

15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. 26 

1 Samuel 15:32

Samuel Puts Agag to Death

15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites.” So Agag came to him trembling, 27  thinking to himself, 28  “Surely death is bitter!” 29 

1 Samuel 16:10

16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. 30  But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”

1 Samuel 16:12

16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. 31  Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, “Go and anoint him. This is the one!”

1 Samuel 17:10

17:10 Then the Philistine said, “I defy Israel’s troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight 32  each other!”

1 Samuel 17:17

17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly 33  to the camp to your brothers.

1 Samuel 17:43-44

17:43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” 34  Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” 35 

1 Samuel 17:58

17:58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.” 36 

1 Samuel 20:11

20:11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”

When the two of them had gone out into the field,

1 Samuel 20:26

20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it 37  that day, for he thought, 38  “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.”

1 Samuel 20:36

20:36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan 39  shot the arrow beyond him.

1 Samuel 20:40

20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”

1 Samuel 23:2

23:2 So David asked the Lord, “Should I go and strike down these Philistines?” The Lord said to David, “Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.”

1 Samuel 23:10

23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning 40  to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

1 Samuel 23:12

23:12 David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul’s hand?” The Lord said, “They will deliver you over.”

1 Samuel 24:16-17

24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. 41  24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent 42  than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you!

1 Samuel 25:19

25:19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

1 Samuel 25:32

25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised 43  be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me!

1 Samuel 25:40-41

25:40 So the servants of David went to Abigail at Carmel and said to her, “David has sent us to you to bring you back to be his wife.” 25:41 She arose, bowed her face toward the ground, and said, “Your female servant, like a lowly servant, will wash 44  the feet of the servants of my lord.”

1 Samuel 26:1

David Spares Saul’s Life Again

26:1 The Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Isn’t David hiding on the hill of Hakilah near 45  Jeshimon?”

1 Samuel 26:9

26:9 But David said to Abishai, “Don’t kill him! Who can extend his hand against the Lord’s chosen one 46  and remain guiltless?”

1 Samuel 26:17

26:17 When Saul recognized David’s voice, he said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David replied, “Yes, it’s my voice, my lord the king.”

1 Samuel 28:12

28:12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly. 47  The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

1 Samuel 28:16

28:16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy?

1 Samuel 30:7

30:7 Then David said to the priest Abiathar son of Ahimelech, “Bring me the ephod.” So Abiathar brought the ephod to David.


tc Several medieval Hebrew mss and the Syriac Peshitta lack the words “and got something to eat.”

tc For “these” the LXX has “of the Lord” (κυρίου, kuriou), perhaps through the influence of the final phrase of v. 24 (“the people of the Lord”). Somewhat less likely is the view that the MT reading is due to a distorted dittography of the first word of v. 24. The Vulgate lacks the word.

tn The Hebrew text adds “so that” here, formally connecting this clause with the next.

tn Heb “he”; the referent (Eli) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

tn Heb “what is good in his eyes.”

tn The Hebrew text has a direct quote, “because they said, ‘Gods have come to the camp.’” Even though the verb translated “have come” is singular, the following subject should be taken as plural (“gods”), as v. 8 indicates. Some emend the verb to a plural form.

tn Traditionally “woe to.” They thought disaster was imminent.

tn Heb “don’t stop.”

tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”

10 tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

11 tn Heb “when.”

12 tn Heb “and the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel.”

13 tn Heb “responded.”

14 tn Or “baggage” (so many English versions); KJV “stuff”; TEV “supplies.”

15 tc 4QSama and Josephus (Ant. 6.68-71) attest to a longer form of text at this point. The addition explains Nahash’s practice of enemy mutilation, and by so doing provides a smoother transition to the following paragraph than is found in the MT. The NRSV adopts this reading, with the following English translation: “Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.” This reading should not be lightly dismissed; it may in fact provide a text superior to that of the MT and the ancient versions. But the external evidence for it is so limited as to induce caution; the present translation instead follows the MT. However, for a reasonable case for including this reading in the text see the discussions in P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 199, and R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 103.

16 sn The name “Nahash” means “serpent” in Hebrew.

17 tn Heb “went up and camped”; NIV, NRSV “went up and besieged.”

18 tn The second masculine plural forms in this quotation indicate that Nahash and his army are addressed.

19 tn Heb “according to all that is good in your eyes.”

20 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 7, 8).

21 tn Heb “in your heart.”

22 tn Heb “Look, I am with you, according to your heart.” See the note at 13:14.

23 tn Heb “the two of them.”

24 tn Or perhaps “until.”

25 tc The LXX reads “saw.” See v. 27.

26 tn Heb “to the voice of the words of the Lord” (so KJV).

27 tn The MT reading מַעֲדַנֹּת (maadannot, literally, “bonds,” used here adverbially, “in bonds”) is difficult. The word is found only here and in Job 38:31. Part of the problem lies in determining the root of the word. Some scholars have taken it to be from the root ענד (’nd, “to bind around”), but this assumes a metathesis of two of the letters of the root. Others take it from the root עדן (’dn) with the meaning “voluptuously,” but this does not seem to fit the context. It seems better to understand the word to be from the root מעד (md, “to totter” or “shake”). In that case it describes the fear that Agag experienced in realizing the mortal danger that he faced as he approached Samuel. This is the way that the LXX translators understood the word, rendering it by the Greek participle τρέμον (tremon, “trembling”).

28 tn Heb “and Agag said.”

29 tc The text is difficult here. With the LXX, two Old Latin mss, and the Syriac Peshitta it is probably preferable to delete סָר (sar, “is past”) of the MT; it looks suspiciously like a dittograph of the following word מַר (mar, “bitter”). This further affects the interpretation of Agag’s comment. In the MT he comes to Samuel confidently assured that the danger is over (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV “Surely the bitterness of death is past,” along with NLT, CEV). However, it seems more likely that Agag realized that his fortunes had suddenly taken a turn for the worse and that the clemency he had enjoyed from Saul would not be his lot from Samuel. The present translation thus understands Agag to approach not confidently but in the stark realization that his death is imminent (“Surely death is bitter!”). Cf. NAB “So it is bitter death!”; NRSV “Surely this is the bitterness of death”; TEV “What a bitter thing it is to die!”

30 tn Heb “caused seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.” This could be taken as referring to seven sons in addition to the three mentioned before this, but 1 Sam 17:12 says Jesse had eight sons, not eleven. 1 Chr 2:13-15 lists only seven sons, including David. However, 1 Chr 27:18 mentions an additional son, named Elihu.

31 tn Heb “and he sent and brought him.”

32 tn Following the imperative, the cohortative verbal form indicates purpose/result here.

33 tn Heb “run.”

34 sn Sticks is a pejorative reference to David’s staff (v. 40); the same Hebrew word (מַקֵּל, maqqel) is used for both.

35 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss have “the earth” here, instead of the MT’s “the field.”

36 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

37 tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.

38 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself.

39 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

40 tn Heb “seeking.”

41 tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”

42 tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”

43 tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).

44 tn Heb “Here is your maidservant, for a lowly servant to wash.”

45 tn Heb “upon the face of.”

46 tn Heb “anointed” (also in vv. 11, 16, 23).

47 tn Heb “in a great voice.”