OET interlinear 1SA 24:7

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / events

וַ⁠יְשַׁסַּ֨ע דָּוִ֤ד אֶת־אֲנָשָׁי⁠ו֙ בַּ⁠דְּבָרִ֔ים וְ⁠לֹ֥א נְתָנָ֖⁠ם לָ⁠ק֣וּם אֶל־שָׁא֑וּל

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to,men_of,his forbid, to/for=me before,LORD if do DOM the,thing the=this to,lord_of,my to,anointed_of YHWH to,lift hand_of,my in/on/over=him/it that/for/because/then/when anointed_of YHWH he/it )

It is possible that David’s men told him that if he did not feel he could attack and kill Saul himself, they would do it for him. (In [26:8](../26/08.md), Abishai tells David that directly when David gets another opportunity to kill Saul.) If that is the case, then the author is describing one event before describing another event that preceded it. In your translation, you may wish to relate these events in the order in which they would have happened. Alternate translation: [And David did not allow his men to arise against Saul, but he dispersed them with words]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וַ⁠יְשַׁסַּ֨ע דָּוִ֤ד אֶת־אֲנָשָׁי⁠ו֙

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to,men_of,his forbid, to/for=me before,LORD if do DOM the,thing the=this to,lord_of,my to,anointed_of YHWH to,lift hand_of,my in/on/over=him/it that/for/because/then/when anointed_of YHWH he/it )

In its few other uses in the Hebrew Bible, the term translated as dispersed means to tear in pieces or to divide. Here it could mean: (1) that David’s men had gathered in a large group in preparation to attack Saul, but by refusing to allow them to do that, David caused them to move back into various parts of the cave in smaller groups. The ULT suggests this meaning. (2) that David spoke harshly to his men to keep them from attacking Saul. In that case, the author would be speaking of David’s action as if he had slashed at the crowd of men the way someone might slash a sacrificial animal in order to divide it into pieces. Alternate translation: [And David rebuked his men] (3) that David restrained his men. Some interpreters believe that the text originally had a word with this meaning that was altered in the process of transmission. Alternate translation: [And David restrained his men]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

בַּ⁠דְּבָרִ֔ים

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to,men_of,his forbid, to/for=me before,LORD if do DOM the,thing the=this to,lord_of,my to,anointed_of YHWH to,lift hand_of,my in/on/over=him/it that/for/because/then/when anointed_of YHWH he/it )

The author is using the term words by association to mean what David said by using words. The author could be referring to: (1) what David said in the previous verse. Alternate translation: [by saying this] (2) something further that David said to keep his men from killing Saul themselves. Alternate translation: [by persuading them that they too should respect Saul as Yahweh’s anointed]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

לָ⁠ק֣וּם אֶל־שָׁא֑וּל

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to,men_of,his forbid, to/for=me before,LORD if do DOM the,thing the=this to,lord_of,my to,anointed_of YHWH to,lift hand_of,my in/on/over=him/it that/for/because/then/when anointed_of YHWH he/it )

See how you translated this expression in [1:9](../01/09.md). Alternate translation: [to take action against Saul]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠שָׁא֛וּל קָ֥ם מֵ⁠הַ⁠מְּעָרָ֖ה

(Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said to,men_of,his forbid, to/for=me before,LORD if do DOM the,thing the=this to,lord_of,my to,anointed_of YHWH to,lift hand_of,my in/on/over=him/it that/for/because/then/when anointed_of YHWH he/it )

The cave was not a hole in the ground that Saul had to climb out of. The author says that he arose from the cave to indicate that he left the cave and continued his search for David once he had finished relieving himself. Alternate translation: [And Saul moved on from the cave]