1 Samuel 2:2-3

2:2 No one is holy ¹  like the Lord!

There is no one other than you!

There is no rock ²  like our God!

2:3 Don’t keep speaking so arrogantly, ³ 

letting proud talk come out of your mouth!

For the Lord is a God who knows;

he ⁴  evaluates what people do.

1 Samuel 5:2

5:2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon.

1 Samuel 6:6

6:6 Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? ⁵  When God ⁶  treated them harshly, didn’t the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way? ⁷ 

1 Samuel 6:20

6:20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark ⁸  go up from here?”

1 Samuel 7:8

7:8 The Israelites said to Samuel, “Keep ⁹  crying out to the Lord our ¹⁰  God so that he may save us ¹¹  from the hand of the Philistines!”

1 Samuel 14:37

14:37 So Saul asked God, “Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.

1 Samuel 19:23

19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

1 Samuel 23:10

23:10 Then David said, “O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning ¹²  to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me.

1 Samuel 25:22

25:22 God will severely punish David, ¹³  if I leave alive until morning even one male ¹⁴  from all those who belong to him!”

1 Samuel 25:32

25:32 Then David said to Abigail, “Praised ¹⁵  be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me!

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¹ sn In this context God’s holiness refers primarily to his sovereignty and incomparability. He is unique and distinct from all other so-called gods.

² tn The LXX has “and there is none righteous like our God.” The Hebrew term translated “rock” refers to a rocky cliff where one can seek refuge from enemies. Here the metaphor depicts God as a protector of his people. Cf. TEV “no protector like our God”; CEV “We’re safer with you than on a high mountain.”

³ tn Heb “proudly, proudly.” If MT is original, the repetition of the word is for emphasis, stressing the arrogance of those addressed. However, a few medieval Hebrew manuscripts and some other textual witnesses do not reflect the repetition, suggesting that the Hebrew text may be dittographic.

⁴ tc The MT (Qere) reads “and by him actions are weighed.” The translation assumes that reading of the Qere וְלוֹ (vÿlo, “and by him”), which is supported by many medieval Hebrew mss, is correct, rather than the reading of the Kethib וְלוֹא (vÿlo’, “and not”).

⁵ tn Heb “like Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their heart.”

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “and they sent them away and they went.”

⁸ tn Heb “he” or “it”; the referent here (the ark) has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. also NIV, CEV, NLT). Others, however, take the referent to be the Lord himself.

⁹ tn Heb “don’t stop.”

¹⁰ tc The LXX reads “your God” rather than the MT’s “our God.”

¹¹ tn After the negated jussive, the prefixed verbal form with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose/result.

¹² tn Heb “seeking.”

¹³ tc Heb “Thus God will do to the enemies of David and thus he will add.” Most of the Old Greek ms tradition has simply “David,” with no reference to his enemies. In OT imprecations such as the one found in v. 22 it is common for the speaker to direct malediction toward himself as an indication of the seriousness with which he regards the matter at hand. In other words, the speaker invites on himself dire consequences if he fails to fulfill the matter expressed in the oath. However, in the situation alluded to in v. 22 the threat actually does not come to fruition due to the effectiveness of Abigail’s appeal to David in behalf of her husband Nabal. Instead, David is placated through Abigail’s intervention. It therefore seems likely that the reference to “the enemies of David” in the MT of v. 22 is the result of a scribal attempt to deliver David from the implied consequences of this oath. The present translation follows the LXX rather than the MT here.

¹⁴ tn Heb “one who urinates against a wall” (also in v. 34); KJV “any that pisseth against the wall.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “blessed” (also in vv. 33, 39).