¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc The number 50,070 is surprisingly large, although it finds almost unanimous textual support in the MT and in the ancient versions. Only a few medieval Hebrew mss lack “50,000,” reading simply “70” instead. However, there does not seem to be sufficient external evidence to warrant reading 70 rather than 50,070, although that is done by a number of recent translations (e.g., NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT). The present translation (reluctantly) follows the MT and the ancient versions here.

³ tn This verb form, as well as the one that follows (“appointed”), indicates completed action from the standpoint of the speaker. This does not necessarily mean that the Lord had already conducted his search and made his choice, however. The forms may be used for rhetorical effect to emphasize the certainty of the action. The divine search for a new king is as good as done, emphasizing that the days of Saul’s dynasty are numbered.

⁴ tn Heb “according to his heart.” The idiomatic expression means to be like-minded with another, as its use in 1 Sam 14:7 indicates.

⁵ tn Heb “commanded.”

⁶ tn Heb “it had pity,” apparently with the understood subject being “my eye,” in accordance with a common expression.

⁷ tn Heb “anointed.”

⁸ tn Heb “Not good [is] this thing which you have done.”

⁹ tn Heb “you are sons of death.”