Translations
KJVPrimary
King James VersionWhen one told me, saying, Behold, Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings:
F.O.G.Secondary
The F.O.G—when the one who told me, 'Sha'ul is dead!' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and put him to death in Tziklag—that was the reward I gave him for his news—'
F.O.G.M.
F.O.G Message—when the man who told me, 'Saul is dead!'' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and had him executed at Ziklag. That was my reward to him for his tidings—'
BSB
Berean Standard Biblewhen someone told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was a bearer of good news, I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was his reward for his news!
Footnotes
The word *bessorah* ('good news / tidings') is the very root from which *evangel*—gospel—derives. The searing irony is intentional: the Amalekite in chapter 1 believed Saul's death was *bessorah*, glad news worth reward, and paid with his life. David is deploying a classic *qal v'homer* (light-to-heavy) argument: if the *messenger* of a rival's death was executed, how much more deserving of death are the *perpetrators*? The rhetorical structure is Hebraic legal reasoning at its most disciplined.
