1 Samuel 20:22

22 But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away.

1 Samuel 20:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:22

But if I say thus unto the young man, behold, the arrows [are]
beyond thee
Being shot to a greater distance than where the young man was:

go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away;
then he was to depart directly, without staying to have any conversation with Jonathan, which would not be safe for either of them, and so make the best of his way into the country, and escape for his life; for so it was ordered by the providence of God, that he must not stay, but be gone immediately: the signals were these, that if things were favourable, then he would shoot his arrows on one side of the lad, and David might come out and show himself at once; but if not, he would shoot them beyond him, by which he might know that he must flee for his life.

1 Samuel 20:22 In-Context

20 I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target.
21 Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble.
22 But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away.
23 And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
24 So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.