OET interlinear 1 SAM 4:7

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

וַ⁠יִּֽרְאוּ֙ הַ⁠פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים כִּ֣י אָמְר֔וּ בָּ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הַֽ⁠מַּחֲנֶ֑ה

(Some words not found in UHB: and=they_saw the,Philistines that/for/because/then/when said he/it_came ʼElohīm to/towards the,camp and=they_said woe to/for=us that/for/because/then/when not she/it_was like,this yesterday before )

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases, since the second phrase gives the reason for the result that the first phrase describes. Alternate translation: [And the Philistines said, “A god has come into the camp!” and that thought made them very afraid]

Note 2 topic: translate-plural

בָּ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶל־הַֽ⁠מַּחֲנֶ֑ה

(Some words not found in UHB: and=they_saw the,Philistines that/for/because/then/when said he/it_came ʼElohīm to/towards the,camp and=they_said woe to/for=us that/for/because/then/when not she/it_was like,this yesterday before )

The word that the ULT translates as god is plural, but the verb has come is singular. This suggests that as the author expresses the meaning of what the Philistines said in their own language, he is using the plural form to indicate greatness. Your language may be able to use a plural subject with a singular verb for this same purpose. If not, you could convey the meaning in another way. Alternate translation: [A great god has come into the camp]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclamations

א֣וֹי לָ֔⁠נוּ

woe to/for=us

The Philistines are using a phrase that expresses a strong feeling, fear. There may be an equivalent word or phrase in your language that you can use in your translation to convey this strong feeling. If not, you could say what the Philistines were feeling, or you could say what they were afraid of, here and in the next verse. Alternate translation: [Oh, no!] or [We are in great danger!]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

אֶתְמ֥וֹל שִׁלְשֹֽׁם

yesterday (Some words not found in UHB: and=they_saw the,Philistines that/for/because/then/when said he/it_came ʼElohīm to/towards the,camp and=they_said woe to/for=us that/for/because/then/when not she/it_was like,this yesterday before )

In this culture, the current day was considered the first day, the previous day was considered the second day, and the day before that was considered the third day. In your translation, describe these days as your language and culture naturally would. Alternate translation: [yesterday or the day before]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

אֶתְמ֥וֹל שִׁלְשֹֽׁם

yesterday (Some words not found in UHB: and=they_saw the,Philistines that/for/because/then/when said he/it_came ʼElohīm to/towards the,camp and=they_said woe to/for=us that/for/because/then/when not she/it_was like,this yesterday before )

The Philistines are using yesterday or the third day as a common expression of their culture to mean “at any time in the past.” If this phrase does not have that meaning in your language, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [in days gone by] or [ever in the past]