If it is more natural to do so, the verb said may be translated “answered” as in Good News Translation.

Far be it from you! See the comments on verse 2 and 2.30.

If I knew: literally “if to know I knew.” Good News Translation captures the force of the reinforcing verbs by adding “for sure,” and Fox, in his characteristic way, says “If I were to know, yes, know that my father has concluded evil to come against you.”

The passive formulation it was determined by my father may easily be made active by saying something like “my father has decided” or by following the model of Good News Translation. The Hebrew is literally “that evil was determined by my father.” The construction is the same as that in verse 7.

Would I not tell you? This question is Jonathan’s way of insisting that he would most definitely tell David if he knew his father wanted to kill him. Since the question format may not communicate this certainty in some languages, it may be advisable to translate “I’ll certainly let you know” (Contemporary English Version), or perhaps “I swear that I will inform you” (La Bible du Semeur).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

In asking the question Who will tell me…? David is not so much concerned about the specific person that would bring the message as he is about how he would learn the news. So it is possible to translate “How will I find out…?”

Roughly: this adjective expresses the idea of “difficult,” “hard,” “severe.” New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible (similarly New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible) render it “harshly.”

If a language prefers indirect discourse, translators may consider the following model:

• Then David asked Jonathan how he would find out if Saul answered in an angry manner.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

If indirect discourse is preferred, translators may say “Then Jonathan responded by inviting David to go with him out into the [nearby] field.”

On the translation of the field, see the comments on 19.3.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

A note in New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh correctly states that “the meaning of several parts of verses 12-16 is uncertain.” Similarly a note in Bible en français courant states that the text in these verses is unclear and the translation uncertain. Furthermore, regarding verses 12-13, a note in Bible en français courant states that “in the Hebrew text of verses 12b and 13, the construction of the sentence is not very clear.”

The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation indicate in footnotes that the Hebrew does not have the words be witness. Many modern translations follow the Septuagint. Others follow evidence from a couple of Hebrew manuscripts in adding the word “lives.” Compare New American Bible, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives.”

Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text, claiming that the words the LORD, the God of Israel is an abbreviated oath formula. Compare “By Yahweh, God of Israel!” (New Jerusalem Bible, and similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New Revised Standard Version). The following translation may be recommended as a model: “Then Jonathan said to David, ‘I assure you by the LORD, the God of Israel’ ” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Some traditional translations such as King James Version and Almeida have rendered this phrase in a manner which suggests that Jonathan were addressing God rather than David. King James Version says, for example, “And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time….” But Jonathan is taking an oath in the name of God, not speaking directly to God.

When I have sounded my father: the verb rendered sounded is elsewhere translated “explore” (Judges 18.2) and “search” (2 Sam 10.3). A basic component of this verb appears to be that the examination or testing is by means of questions. In this context it seems to indicate that Jonathan intends to learn his father’s intentions without asking direct questions about David. Translators should therefore avoid giving the impression that Jonathan would interrogate his father by asking him directly whether he plans to harm David. New Century Version accurately reflects the meaning: “I will find out how my father feels.”

Or the third day: see verse 5. The Hebrew is literally “the third.” Most translations that follow the Septuagint in omitting “the third” in verse 5 omit “the third” in this verse also, even though the Septuagint has “the third” here in verse 12. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text here, suggesting that in verse 5 David spoke only of the evening without specifying the day. In verse 12, however, Jonathan refers to the “day-after-tomorrow,” realizing that his father will not miss David the first day but will miss him the day after the banquet day.

Behold: literally “and behold.”

If he is well disposed toward David: literally “good toward David.”

Disclose it to you: literally “uncover your ears” (see the comments on verse 2 as well as 9.15). The rhetorical question at the end of this verse will have to be translated as an emphatic statement in certain languages. Some possible models are “Of course I will let you know” (Contemporary English Version) or “I will certainly inform you.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Should it please my father to do you harm: this awkward wording may be more naturally rendered “if he wants to harm you” (Contemporary English Version) or “if my father intends to do you harm” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

The LORD do so to Jonathan, and more also: since Jonathan is the person who is speaking here, it will be unnatural in most languages to have him refer to himself in the third person as in Hebrew and Revised Standard Version. The pronoun “me” will be much more appropriate. On the curse formula the LORD do so … and more also, see the comments at 3.17, and compare also Ruth 1.17. These words stand at the beginning of the verse in Hebrew, but they need to describe the consequences if I do not disclose ….

The Hebrew in the middle of this verse is difficult to make sense of. The original says “if I disclose it to you,” but the context seems to require a negative, “if I do not disclose it to you.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, which faithfully follows the Masoretic Text in most cases, inserts the word “not” in the text within brackets. Many versions add the negation without any special punctuation, and others reword this part of the verse to convey the meaning “if my father intends to do you a mischief, I shall tell you so” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Disclose it to you: as in verse 12.

Trying to make sense out of difficult verses, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible translates verses 12b-13a as follows:
“If everything goes well for David and in that case I do not let you know, may the LORD do to Jonathan that and more. If it pleases my father to harm you, I will warn you, and send you away and you will go peacefully.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

This verse is difficult to understand in Hebrew, as the Revised Standard Version note suggests. Osty-Trinquet states in a footnote that the text of verses 14-16 is in very bad condition. Many translations follow the Septuagint or simply reconstruct the probable sense of the text.

The loyal love of the LORD: loyal love translates a single Hebrew word that expresses the ideas of faithfulness, steadfast love, or kindness. Revised English Bible says “faithful friendship,” and New American Bible says “kindness.” Of the LORD may be understood to mean that David is to show the same kind of steadfast love that God shows, or it may be understood to mean “as the LORD requires” (Revised English Bible). These words are the basis for the Good News Translation rendering, “sacred promise.” It is also possible to understand of the LORD as a superlative, that is, “outstanding loyal love.” The Septuagint reads “deal mercifully” instead of the loyal love of the LORD, and this is the basis for the Anchor Bible rendering “If I remain alive, deal loyally with me” (and similarly New Jerusalem Bible and Klein).

The Masoretic Text contains negatives in the first part of this verse. A literal translation of the Hebrew reads “And not if I still alive, and [or, then] you will not show me the loyal love of the LORD, and I not die.” It is difficult to know whether the words that I may not die express the purpose of the first part of the verse, as in Revised Standard Version (also New International Version, Fox), or whether these words begin a new conditional sentence that continues into verse 15, as in Good News Translation (also New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible). A literal translation of Traduction œcuménique de la Bible—attempting to retain the negatives—says “Isn’t it [true]? If I remain alive, you must act toward me with the faithfulness which the LORD requires. And if I die, isn’t it [true]?” But the translation in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible makes little sense and is not recommended as a model. Good News Translation probably expresses the intended relationship between verses 14 and 15.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The verbal expressions do not cut off and cuts off reflect the Hebrew word that is sometimes used of excommunication from the social and religious community of Israel (Lev 7.20), and sometimes of total destruction (1 Sam 24.21). The latter meaning seems to be intended in the second occurrence of the verb here. The first occurrence, however, has an object (your loyalty) and is used with the negative. It may be translated positively as “keep on being kind to….” Or, if the negation is retained, “never withdraw your kindness” (New American Bible).

Loyalty represents the same word discussed under the verbal expression “deal kindly” in verse 8. See also comments on 15.6, where this same term is translated “kindness.”

My house: that is, my “family” (New Century Version) or my “descendants” (Bible en français courant). Jonathan here asks for something more than was involved in the pact made in 18.3, namely that David’s loyalty would extend to members of his family who lived on after his death. This is at least partially fulfilled in 2 Sam 9 by David’s kindness to Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son.

The enemies of David: Hebrew switches from direct address, your, to indirect reference, of David (see page 12). But since Jonathan is speaking directly to David, it will be more natural to say “your enemies” as in Good News Translation. On the possible meaning of the enemies of David as “David’s sons,” see the comments at the end of verse 16.

From the face of the earth: while this is an accurate literal rendering of the Hebrew, the meaning is “from the surface of the earth” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or simply “from the earth.” The idea of this expression is rendered by the adverb “completely” in Good News Translation.

Contemporary English Version rearranges the whole of verses 14 and 15, combining elements of the two. This restructuring is worth citing as a possible model for other languages:

• Someday the LORD will wipe out all of your enemies. Then if I’m still alive, please be as kind to me as the LORD has been. But if I’m dead, be kind to my family.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente states in a footnote that “verse 16 in the Hebrew text is obscure and slightly different translations are possible.” A comparison of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation illustrates how different translations of this verse may be.

One difficulty concerns the meaning of the verb translated “made a covenant” in the Revised Standard Version footnote. The Hebrew is literally “Jonathan cut with the house of David.” This may mean “cut a covenant” (so New Revised Standard Version) as in 22.8, or it may mean “cut off [or, destroy],” as in verse 15. Some interpreters correct the Hebrew text by changing the active verb “cut” in the Masoretic Text to the passive verb “to be cut,” and by changing the preposition “with” to the preposition from (so Revised Standard Version and Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel). These changes find some support in the reading of the Septuagint.

The second sentence in this verse is literally “And the LORD sought [vengeance?] from hand of the enemies of David.” The connection of this sentence with the first sentence is not clear. New Revised Standard Version provides one possible translation of the Hebrew text by making the second sentence the content of the covenant oath: “Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the LORD seek out the enemies of David.’ ”

Revised English Bible follows the Septuagint in reading “him” instead of “the enemies of David,” that is, may the LORD take vengeance on David himself. Revised English Bible basically follows the Greek in the following translation of this verse: “may the LORD call him [David] to account if he and his house are no longer my friends.”

Some propose that the Hebrew should be changed to read “house of Saul” instead of “house of David.” Compare New Jerusalem Bible (and similarly Osty-Trinquet): “Do not let Jonathan’s name be exterminated [corrected to a passive verb] with Saul’s family, or may Yahweh call David to account.” Following a different understanding of the text, Fox places “David’s enemies” in quotation marks and translates “may YHWH seek (it) from the hand of ‘David’s enemies’!” and then explains in a footnote that later scribes have added the word “enemies” in order to avoid placing a curse on David.

Because this verse and the preceding verses are so obscure, it is difficult to recommend any one translation over another. One thing is important: translators may be tempted to follow one translation in one part of a verse and then a different translation in another part of the verse. The result may be a translation that makes little or no sense. It is important that verses 12-16 hold together logically. Notes such as those cited above from Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and other translations may be used to inform readers that the Hebrew text of these verses is very difficult to understand and that the translation is uncertain.

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and proposes the following interpretation: in 16a Jonathan makes a covenant with David, and 16b consists of an oath that Jonathan makes David swear. Also, the words “the enemies of David” are a euphemism, as in 2 Sam 12.14, for the “sons of David,” who ought not to be referred to in a cursing formula. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends the following translation of verses 15-16 and suggests that a note be used to state that “David’s enemies” means “David’s sons”:
and you will not cut off your kindness from my house for ever, even not when the LORD cuts off David’s enemies, every one of them from the face of the earth! Thus Jonathan made the covenant with the house of David: “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account!”

The following translation attempts to express more clearly the sense of the translation proposed by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament:

• and do not cut off your kindness from my descendants for ever, not even when the LORD destroys every one of your descendants from the face of the earth! So Jonathan made the covenant with the family of David, and David said, “May the LORD call my descendants to account if they do not keep this covenant.”

Compare also the Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente rendering of verse 16, which follows here the recommendations of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament:

• This is the promise that Jonathan imposed on David and on his descendants, saying: “May the LORD not take account of the descendants of David if they do not obey it [the promise].”

Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente has the following footnote on this verse:
Verse 16 in the Hebrew text is obscure and there are several slightly different translations possible. The word translated “descendants” is, in Hebrew, “enemies.” But the term “enemies” has been used in order to not attribute to the descendants of David a curse formula.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .