1 Samuel 20:21

21 And behold, I will send the young man, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,' then you are to come, for, 1as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.

1 Samuel 20:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:21

And, behold, I will send a lad
That attended on him, and carried his bow and arrows, and fetched his arrows when he had shot them:

[saying], go, find out the arrows;
where they are fallen, and return them:

if I expressly say unto the lad, behold, the arrows [are] on this side
of thee, take them;
on one side of him, whether the one or the other, which he would bid him take up, and bring them to him:

then come thou;
David, out of the place where he hid himself:

for [there is] peace to thee, and no hurt, [as] the Lord liveth;
he might appear, and not be afraid of being seen by any, since by this sign he might be assured that Saul was well affected to him, and would show him favour, and do him no injury; and that he might promise himself prosperity and safety, and be assured of it for the present.

1 Samuel 20:21 In-Context

19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.
20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
21 And behold, I will send the young man, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,' then you are to come, for, as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
22 But if I say to the youth, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go, for the LORD has sent you away.
23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever."

Cross References 1

  • 1. ver. 3; See Ruth 3:13
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.