Discovery Box1 Samuel 17:17-20 
Context17:17 Jesse said to his son David, “Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly 1 to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. 2 Find out how your brothers are doing 3 and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. 4 17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army 5 in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.”
17:20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. 6 After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp 7 as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry.
1 tn Heb “run.”
2 tn Heb “officer of the thousand.”
3 tn Heb “and your brothers, observe with respect to welfare.”
4 tn Heb “and their pledge take.” This probably refers to some type of confirmation that the goods arrived safely. See R. W. Klein, 1 Samuel (WBC), 177. Cf. NIV “bring back some assurance”; NCV “some proof to show me they are all right”; NLT “bring me back a letter from them.”
5 tn Heb “all the men of Israel.”
6 tn Heb “to a guard”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “with a keeper”; NIV “with a shepherd.” Since in contemporary English “guard” sounds like someone at a military installation or a prison, the present translation uses “to someone else who would watch over it.”
7 tn Or “entrenchment.”
