1 Samuel 20:21

21 "And behold, I will send the lad, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I specifically say to the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,' then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the LORD lives.

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 "When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel.
20 "I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target.
21 "And behold, I will send the lad, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I specifically say to the lad, 'Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,' then come; for there is safety for you and no harm, as the LORD lives.
22 "But if I say to the youth, 'Behold, the arrows are beyond you,' go, for the LORD has sent you away.
23 "As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever ."

Footnotes 1

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