1 Samuel 6:18

6:18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, ¹  where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh.

1 Samuel 9:13

9:13 When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won’t eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for ²  this is the time when you can find him!”

1 Samuel 14:36

14:36 Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout ³  them until the break of day. ⁴  We won’t leave any of them alive!” ⁵  They replied, “Do whatever seems best to you.” ⁶  But the priest said, “Let’s approach God here.”

1 Samuel 16:11

16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Is that all of the young men?” Jesse ⁷  replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he’s taking care of the flock.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.”

1 Samuel 29:3

29:3 The leaders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish said to the leaders of the Philistines, “Isn’t this David, the servant of King Saul of Israel, who has been with me for quite some time? ⁸  I have found no fault with him from the day of his defection until the present time!” ⁹ 

1 Samuel 29:6

29:6 So Achish summoned David and said to him, “As surely as the Lord lives, you are an honest man, and I am glad to have you ¹⁰  serving ¹¹  with me in the army. ¹²  I have found no fault with you from the day that you first came to me until the present time. But in the opinion ¹³  of the leaders, you are not reliable. ¹⁴ 

1 Samuel 29:8

29:8 But David said to Achish, “What have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day that I first came into your presence until the present time, that I shouldn’t go and fight the enemies of my lord the king?”

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¹ tc A few Hebrew mss and the LXX read “villages; the large rock…[is witness] until this very day.”

² tc The MT has “him” (אֹתוֹ, ’oto) here, in addition to the “him” at the end of the verse. The ancient versions attest to only one occurrence of the pronoun, although it is possible that this is due to translation technique rather than to their having a Hebrew text with the pronoun used only once. The present translation assumes textual duplication in the MT and does not attempt to represent the pronoun twice. However, for a defense of the MT here, with the suggested translation “for him just now – you will find him,” see S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text and the Topography of the Books of Samuel, 72-73.

³ tn Heb “plunder.”

⁴ tn Heb “until the light of the morning.”

⁵ tn Heb “and there will not be left among them a man.”

⁶ tn Heb “all that is good in your eyes.” So also in v. 40.

⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jesse) has been specified in the translation both here and in v. 12 for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “these days or these years.”

⁹ tn Heb “from the day of his falling [away] until this day.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “it is good in my eyes.” Cf. v. 7.

¹¹ tn Heb “your going forth and your coming in.” The expression is a merism.

¹² tn Heb “camp.”

¹³ tn Heb “eyes.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “good.”