1 Samuel 19:14

14 When Sha'ul sent messengers to capture David, she said, "He's ill."

1 Samuel 19:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 19:14

And when Saul sent messengers to take David
Either the same who in the morning inquired for David, or those staying longer than Saul expected, and fearing they were negligent or corrupted, he sent others: to whom

she said, he [is] sick;
and in bed, and cannot be spoke with; this lie she told through her affection to David, and to preserve his life; and this stratagem she devised to gain time, that while she was amusing the messengers with this tale of hers, before they could discover the truth of the matter David would be out of their reach; whereas, had she denied his being at home, or signified that he had made his escape, they would have immediately pursued after him, and he would have been in danger of being taken by them.

1 Samuel 19:14 In-Context

12 So Mikhal let David down through the window; and he left, fled and escaped.

13 Mikhal took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a goat's-hair quilt at its head and covered it with a cloth.

14 When Sha'ul sent messengers to capture David, she said, "He's ill."

15 Sha'ul sent the messengers to see David with the order, "Bring him up to me, bed and all, so that I can kill him."

16 But when the messengers entered, there before them was the household idol in the bed, with the goat's-hair quilt at its head.