In some languages it may be more natural to use the name, David, instead of saying the king. And the verb said may be more naturally translated “answered” in the context of this conversation.

Go to your house: or “Return to your home.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente makes explicit what is surely implicit in the Hebrew, “Return home and don’t worry.”

I will give orders concerning you: the pronoun I is emphatic and may be better translated “I myself” (New Jerusalem Bible and Anderson). And the verb rendered give orders may also be translated “render judgment” (Anchor Bible) or “settle your case” (Revised English Bible). The point is that David promises to solve the problem faced by the woman, but at a later time. The word translated concerning you has a wide range of uses and may be translated “for you.” This involves the problem that the woman had presented to the king. So this may be legitimately translated “concerning your problem” or “about this matter.” Revised English Bible renders the whole expression “settle your case,” and New Century Version has “I will take care of this for you.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The woman of Tekoa: literally “the Tekoaite woman” as in verse 4. This expression may be replaced by a pronoun if the repetition is awkward or unnatural in the receptor language.

On me be the guilt … and on my father’s house: the guilt of which the woman speaks is the guilt of not punishing the murderer as the law of Moses required. The structure here may be very troublesome to translators. Not only does the statement begin with a prepositional phrase, but this phrase is separated from a second such phrase, on my father’s house, which goes with it. The idea is “God can charge me and my family…” or “My family and I will take the blame.” The word here rendered guilt is translated “iniquity” in 1 Sam 3.13 and is often used in parallel with the word “sin.” But in this case it carries the meaning “fault” (as in 3.8) or “blame.”

My lord the king: once again this is an expression of respect that should probably not be translated literally in most languages. It will be preferable to find equivalent ways of showing such respect in the receptor language.

Let the king and his throne be guiltless: since the woman is speaking directly to the king, this expression may be unnatural in many languages. Also, to imply that a throne can be considered guilty may also be unnatural. This actually refers to the position of royal power and to anyone who may occupy it. It stands in contrast with “my father’s house” earlier in the verse. For this reason it has been rendered “the royal family” (Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Said: in the context of the exchange between the woman and the king, this may be translated “answered” in many languages. The king’s answer contains an implicit rejection of what the woman has said in the previous verse. For this reason Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente begins verse 10 with “ ‘No,’ replied the king. ‘If anyone….’ ”

If any one says anything to you: literally “the one saying to you.” This expression leaves understood that the person will be saying something bad or menacing. But this may be made clear in translation, “if anyone says anything bad to you…” (New Century Version) or “if anyone gives you any trouble.” While most versions take this to refer to any future threats, New Jerusalem Bible and Anchor Bible understand it as a command regarding a person who had already been making accusations. New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “the man who threatened you.”

Shall never touch you again: the verb used here is translated “smite” in 5.8, and elsewhere as “molest” (Ruth 2.9). In this case it is obviously not to be taken literally. The meaning is rather that any person troubling the woman in any way will no longer do so. So one of the following translations may be a good model: “he will not trouble you again” (Revised English Bible); “it won’t happen again!” (Contemporary English Version); “he will not bother you again” (New International Version); “I will not let him do thee any more hurt” (Knox).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

If the present ordering of the text is correct, this constitutes a expansion on the part of the woman, who has already been told that the king would take care of the matter. This may affect the translation in some languages.

Pray: see the comments on 13.6 regarding this means of introducing a request. The same particle that is found here is the one left untranslated by Revised Standard Version in verse 2 above. It is also used again in the following verse. New Revised Standard Version renders it “Please” in both cases.

Let the king invoke the LORD: since the woman is speaking directly to the king, it will be more natural in most cases to say something like “Please [you] pray…” or something similar. However, the idea contained in the verb invoke (literally “remember”) is understood by some to refer to a more formal swearing instead of praying. New Jerusalem Bible, for example, says “pronounce the name of Yahweh…,” and Moffatt says even more directly “let the king swear by the Eternal….”

The avenger of blood: this expression refers to a person who is closely related to someone who has been harmed or killed. This relative was responsible for punishing the person who had done wrong. Early in their history the people of Israel felt that this was a means of bringing about divine justice. See Num 35.19-28; Deut 19.6; and Josh 20.3-5. Revised English Bible translates “the next-of-kin.” And New Century Version attempts to make the meaning quite clear, with “my relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.” But this sounds too general because of the indefinite article, “a murderer.” The woman is talking about the specific murder of her son and not just any murder.

As the LORD lives: see 4.9 and 12.5. Compare also 1 Sam 14.39 and Ruth 3.13. David is now taking the oath as the woman requested.

Not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground: the same idiom in a slightly different form is found in 1 Sam 14.45. This promise should probably not be translated literally in most languages. The commitment of the king is that no harm whatsoever will come to the woman’s son. There is a wide variety of ways in which such an idea may be expressed in different languages. The English idiom “no one will touch even a hair on his head” (Contemporary English Version) retains something of the biblical image, but this is not essential to the meaning of the expression. Some may say “no one will touch him,” or “people will not dare even to speak against him,” or “he will not be harmed at all.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The archaic wording of Revised Standard Version is made simpler in New Revised Standard Version (“Please let your servant speak…”), even though the third person indirect reference and the politeness formula are retained.

Pray: or “Please” (New Revised Standard Version). Regarding this particle, see the previous verse and 13.6.

Formulas of politeness already seen in this conversation are repeated here. When the woman says let your handmaid speak, she is speaking of herself, and in most languages she would more naturally say “let me speak” or “may I say something [else].” Similarly, when she says to my lord the king, the meaning is “to you, sir.” Translators should attempt to retain the politeness of her address without using unnatural-sounding phrases in the receptor language.

The meaning of speak a word is to add something to what has already been said. Some may say simply “speak another word” or “say something else” (New Jerusalem Bible and Anchor Bible). The repetition of the same verb, Speak, in the response of King David is merely a way of giving her permission to do what she had asked. Because this imperative standing alone has other connotations in English, it has been translated “All right” in Good News Translation. The idea is that the woman is asked to continue speaking. New Jerusalem Bible translates “Go on.” In other languages translators may prefer to say “Continue speaking” or “Follow up the matter.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The use of indirect address continues, and the king means “you” twice in this verse.

Such a thing: this refers to something similar to what she had been describing in the made-up story of her two sons. The woman now begins to make the point that what David wanted to do to the people of Israel, the people of God, was practically the same thing as the killing of her remaining son by the vengeful relative. By not allowing his son to return so that he can some day succeed David as king, David is going against the interests of the Israelite people. In some languages this expression will have to be translated “a bad thing like that” or, more explicitly, “a thing like they [people] want to do to my son.”

The king convicts himself: as in the story of Nathan’s confrontation of David in the affair with Bathsheba, the king had once again pronounced sentence on himself without realizing it. But since the woman is still speaking directly to David, this will be more naturally translated using a personal pronoun in place of the king: “you convict yourself” or “you have shown that you are wrong.” The same will be true of the king in the following sentence as well.

His banished one: on the surface this appears to mean “the person that King David had exiled.” There is, however, no indication up to this point in the story that David had taken any official action to prevent Absalom’s return to Jerusalem. So translators are not obligated to use a verb here that means an official, formal banishment. It seems to have been more out of fear for his life that Absalom had chosen a kind of self-exile. But the woman of Tekoa indicates that David is ultimately responsible for his not returning to Jerusalem and certainly for his not being in line to succeed his father as king. It will be possible in some languages to translate “the one you made to run away” or “your son whom you have caused to flee.” The same expression is repeated in the following verse, where it should probably be translated in a similar way.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Some scholars follow an ancient Greek version at the beginning of this verse and say “your son is dead” (so Anchor Bible). But most follow the traditional Hebrew text here in stating that all people eventually die. The emphatic Hebrew construction is literally “to die we shall die.” Fox shows the emphasis in the Hebrew by translating “For we will die, yes, die.” When the woman of Tekoa says We must all die she is talking about human beings in general. For this reason the first person plural pronoun may be better translated more generally in some languages as “All people must die some day” or “Sooner or later everyone will have to die.” The general statement about humankind is further developed by means of a comparison with water that is spilt on the ground. What people have in common with spilled water is that they cannot be brought back again when they die.

The second half of this verse presents two serious problems to Bible scholars. (1) The words God will not take away the life are literally “and God will not lift up the life,” and the sense is not entirely clear. New International Version understands the expression “not lift up the life” to mean “God does not cause people to die.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, on the other hand, suggests that the meaning is that God does not keep anyone from dying. (2) Further, the words of him who devises means are literally “and he devises [or, plans] means.” It is not clear whether the subject of the verb “devises” is God or the king (Good News Translation). Revised Standard Version has reversed the first two letters of this Hebrew verb, thereby changing the verb into a participle meaning “the one who considers.”

On the other hand it is possible to read the text without alteration, and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that the Hebrew text not be changed. Following the Hebrew text as it is, the second half of this verse may mean “But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him” (New International Version). This same meaning is also found in New Revised Standard Version, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and Contemporary English Version. Although this solution is not without its problems, it seems to be one of the better ones that have been proposed. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests a different understanding from that found in New International Version. According to Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, the expression “will not lift up the life” means that God makes no exception, that is, everyone must die and God does not make an exception for anyone. God is also the subject of the verb devises. That is, although God does not exempt anyone from dying, God will take measures (or, plans) for the exiled person to return to the land from which he was exiled (in agreement with the law of Num 35.28). Unlike David, who is not willing to bring Absalom back home to Jerusalem, God wishes to do so.

His banished one: that is, the person who has been sent into exile and is living outside of his own land.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

As already indicated, verses 15-17 are thought by some scholars to have been placed at this point in the text by a copyist’s mistake. But others feel that they are in proper order here and should be kept in place. If the present order is correct, then the woman shifts back to talking in parables as she had been doing earlier in the story, even though her approach was more direct in verses 4-7.

Now: in addition to the common conjunction, the Hebrew text also has an adverb of time that sometimes has a logical or emphatic use. If the order of the Hebrew text is retained, here it seems to serve as a logical marker introducing the conclusion of the encounter between the woman of Tekoa and King David. Goldman translates “Now therefore….”

My lord the king … your handmaid … the king: again the woman refers to herself and to the king indirectly in order to show respect. Again translators should look for equivalent ways of showing respect for authorities in the receptor language.

The people: this is taken by some as a reference back to “the people of God” (verse 13) but by others as referring to “the whole clan” in verse 7. The latter seems much more likely. Anchor Bible argues that the term so translated should be understood as meaning “a certain kinsman.” And Contemporary English Version is more vague, using “someone.” In view of the singular in the following verse (“the man who would destroy me”), this may be the best solution. The passive of New Jerusalem Bible, “I was being intimidated,” also avoids the problem, but this is not possible where the passive form will be unnatural or nonexistent.

Perform the request is literally “do the word.” Some possible model renderings are “grant the petition” (New American Bible), “do what I ask” (New Century Version), “follow the advice [of his humble servant]” (La Bible du Semeur).

His servant: this is another indirect and respectful way in which the woman refers to herself, but a literal translation may give the impression that she is talking about someone else.

It is very likely that the internal quotation reflecting what the woman thought, which is found within the larger quotation, will be better translated indirectly rather than directly: “… thought that if I spoke to the king he might do what I asked.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .