# Now

This word is used here to mark a stop in the main story. Here Samuel gives information about the war between David and the supporters of Saul. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/writing-background]])

# house

Here "house" is used to mean "supporters."

# grew stronger and stronger

This metaphor means the number of people supporting David increased. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])

# grew weaker and weaker

This metaphor means the number of people supporting Saul's family decreased. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-metaphor]])