1 Samuel 20:31

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die.

1 Samuel 20:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:31

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou
shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom
He would not, though heir to the crown, be sure of it; it would be precarious to him, he would be in great danger of being deprived of it on the death of his father; and therefore it would be his highest wisdom to deliver David up to be slain, as it was his greatest folly to protect him, and provide for his satiety:

wherefore now send and fetch him unto me;
send to Bethlehem for him to come to court directly:

for he shall surely die;
or he is "the son of death" ^F7; guilty of death, as the Targum, deserves to die, and Saul was determined upon his death if possible.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (twm Nb) "filius mortis", V. L. Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator; "reus mortis", Junius & Tremellius.

1 Samuel 20:31 In-Context

29 and said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family sacrifice in the city; and my brother himself has commanded me [to be there]; and now, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. He has therefore not come to the king's table.

30 And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die.

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be put to death? what has he done?

33 Then Saul cast the spear at him to smite him; and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit. 'he is a child of death:' similarly in ch. 26.16. See Deut. 25.2.