So: the common Hebrew conjunction is rightly translated to show the logical connection between David’s learning that Nabal was in the area and his sending the ten men to find him. Another way of showing this relationship is to follow the model of New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible, which make a temporal relative clause of verse 4 instead of a separate sentence. New Jerusalem Bible, for example, says “When David heard … he sent ten men….” But the transition word so will be better in many languages.

David’s words to his young men are cited in a direct quotation in verses 5-8. Within this quotation is a second quotation, consisting of the words that the young men are to say to Nabal in verses 6b-8. Good News Translation changes the first quotation into an indirect quotation in order to avoid an embedded quotation. This model will be helpful to other languages as well.

Throughout this section, both the young men who are with David and the young men who serve Nabal are called young men. Translators need to ensure that in the following verses it is clear when the reference is to David’s men and when the reference is to Nabal’s men (see, for example, verse 14).

Greet him: see the comments on 10.4.

In my name: that is, “for me.” But if indirect discourse is used, it may be more natural to say “for him.”

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 .