OET interlinear 2 SAM 2:27

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-oathformula

חַ֚י הָֽ⁠אֱלֹהִ֔ים

he/it_lived the=ʼElohīm

Following the custom of his culture, Joab is swearing an oath by guaranteeing it by something he holds sacred, The life of God. Use a natural way in your language to express an oath.

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

לוּלֵ֖א דִּבַּ֑רְתָּ כִּ֣י אָ֤ז מֵֽ⁠הַ⁠בֹּ֨קֶר֙ נַעֲלָ֣ה הָ⁠עָ֔ם

not (Some words not found in UHB: and=he/it_said Yōʼāⱱ/(Joab) he/it_lived the=ʼElohīm that/for/because/then/when not spoken that/for/because/then/when then from,the,morning continued the,people (a)_man from,after his/its=brother )

Joab is not actually saying that a second event is not going to take place because a first event has not taken place. He does not mean, “If you had not spoken, the people would have taken itself up, but since you have spoken, they are not going to do that.” Instead, he means that this second event would have taken place whether or not the first event had taken place. He is assuring Abner that he too recognizes how destructive war is, and so he would have called off the attack very soon. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. Alternate translation: [even if you had not spoken, by morning the people would still have taken itself up]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

נַעֲלָ֣ה

continued

Joab is using a common expression of his culture to mean that his soldiers would have stopped pursuing Abner’s men. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation. Alternate translation: [would have given up its pursuit]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

אָחִֽי⁠ו

his/its=brother

See how you translated the similar expression in 2:26. Alternate translation: [his fellow Israelite]