1 Samuel 20:15

15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.

1 Samuel 20:15 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:15

But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house
for ever
His family should partake of it as well as himself:

no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, everyone
from the face of the earth;
Saul and his sons, and everyone that should oppose his settlement in the kingdom: Jonathan's meaning is, that the covenant between them should not be only between them personally, but include their posterity, as follows.

1 Samuel 20:15 In-Context

13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayst go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

14 And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die,

15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.

16 Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies.

17 And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him: for he loved him as his own soul.