1 Samuel 20:17-27

17 And Jonathan added to swear steadfastly to David, for he loved him; for he loved so David, as his own soul. (And Jonathan added to steadfastly swear to David, for he loved him; yea, he loved David as much as his own life.)
18 And Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the first day of the month, that is solemn (and that is a feast day), and thou shalt be sought (after);
19 and thy sitting shall be asked (of) till after the morrow. Therefore thou shalt go down hastily, and thou shalt come into a place, where thou shalt be hid in the day, when it is leaveful to work (while this business is at hand); and thou shalt sit beside the stone, that is called Ezel.
20 And I shall shoot three arrows beside that stone, and I shall cast (those) as (if) exercising, either playing me at a sign. (And I shall shoot three arrows toward that stone, and I shall shoot them as if I were aiming at a mark, or at a target.)
21 I shall send my child, and I shall say to him, Go thou, and bring to me the arrows. If I say to the child, Lo! the arrows be on this side (of) thee, take thou those; then come thou to me, for peace is to thee, and nothing is of evil, the Lord liveth. (And I shall send my boy, and I shall say to him, Go thou, and bring me the arrows. Now if I say to the boy, Lo! the arrows be on this side of thee, take thou them; then come thou to me, for all is well for thee, and nothing is of evil, as the Lord liveth.)
22 But if I speak thus to the child, Lo! the arrows be beyond thee; go thou in peace, for the Lord hath delivered thee. (But if I speak thus to the boy, Lo! the arrows be beyond thee; then go thou away to save thy own life, for the Lord hath sent thee away.)
23 Certainly of the word that thou and I have spoken, that is, of the bond of peace betwixt us and our heirs (that is, of the covenant between us and our heirs), the Lord be witness betwixt me and thee till into without end.
24 Therefore David was hid in the field; and the calends/the solemn feast came, and the king sat to eat bread (and the king sat down to eat his meal).
25 And when the king had set on his chair (as) by custom, which chair was beside the wall, Jonathan rose, and sat after Abner, and Abner sat at the side of Saul, and the place of David appeared void (and David's place was empty).
26 And Saul spake not anything in that day; for he thought, that in hap it befelled to him, that he was not clean, neither purified. (And Saul did not say anything about David that day; for he thought perhaps it befell that David was not clean, or purified.)
27 And when the second day after the calends had shined, again the place of David appeared void. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why cometh not the son of Jesse, neither yesterday, neither today, to eat? (And when the second day came after that the new moon had shone, again David's place was empty. And Saul said to his son Jonathan, Why cometh not the son of Jesse to eat, not yesterday, or today?)

1 Samuel 20:17-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 20

David fleeing from Naioth came to Jonathan, and acquainted him with his circumstances, and entreated his favour, 1Sa 20:1-8; which Jonathan promised, and renewed the covenant with him, 1Sa 20:9-17; a scheme was formed between them, by which David might know whether Saul was reconciled to him, and he might come to court, 1Sa 20:18-23; which being tried, Jonathan found it was not safe for him to appear, 1Sa 20:24-34; of which he gave notice by the signals agreed on, 1Sa 20:35-40; and they took their leave of one another with strong expressions of affection and attachment to each other, 1Sa 20:41,42.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.