1 Samuel 19:14

14 Saul sent the men to capture David. But Michal told them, "He's sick."

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 Michal helped David escape through a window. He ran and got away.

13 Then Michal got a statue of a god. She laid it on David's bed. She covered it with clothes. And she put some goat hair at the place where David's head would have been.

14 Saul sent the men to capture David. But Michal told them, "He's sick."

15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David. He told them, "Bring him up here to me in his bed. Then I'll kill him."

16 But when the men entered, they found nothing but the statue in the bed. Some goat hair was at the place where David's head would have been.