1 Samuel 23:20

20 So then, O king, {whenever you want} to come down, come down, and [it will be] for us to deliver him into the hand of the king."

1 Samuel 23:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:20

Now therefore, O king, come down
From Gibeah to Ziph, and the wilderness of it, where David was:

according to all the desires of thy soul to come down;
to seize such a prey which he was greatly desirous of, and of nothing more so than of that according to Abarbinel, the sense is, that the thing was ready in whatever way he should desire it; if he chose to come down himself, and lay hold on him, they invite him to come down; but if he did not choose to come down himself, they would seize him, and bring him to him, and deliver him up into his hand, and so he would be under no necessity of going down after him:

and our part [shall be] to deliver him into the king's hand;
this we will take upon us to do, and save the king the trouble of coming down.

1 Samuel 23:20 In-Context

18 Then the two of them {made} a covenant before Yahweh. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went to his house.

19 Then [the] Ziphites went up to Saul at Gibeah, saying, "[Is] not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which [is] south of Jeshimon

20 So then, O king, {whenever you want} to come down, come down, and [it will be] for us to deliver him into the hand of the king."

21 And Saul said to them, "May you be blessed by Yahweh, for you have shown me compassion

22 Go, please, make certain again! Find out and see {exactly where he is} and who has seen him there! For they have said to me, 'He [is] very cunning.'

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "for all the wanting of your soul"