1 Samuel 24:21

21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”

1 Samuel 24:21 in Other Translations

KJV
21 Swear now therefore unto me by the LORD, that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me, and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house.
ESV
21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house."
NLT
21 Now swear to me by the LORD that when that happens you will not kill my family and destroy my line of descendants!”
MSG
21 Now promise me under God that you will not kill off my family or wipe my name off the books."
CSB
21 Therefore swear to me by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family."

1 Samuel 24:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 24:21

Swear now therefore unto me by the Lord
By the Word of the Lord, as the, Targum:

that thou wilt not cut off my seed after me;
as was usually done in despotic governments in the eastern countries, and is at this day, when one is advanced to the throne of another, by whom issue is left, who may be rivals and competitors with him:

and that thou wilt not destroy my name out of my father's house;
by cutting off his seed, the same thing in different words repeated, for the confirmation of it; children bear the names of their fathers, and by them their memory is perpetuated, and cutting off them is destroying the name of their parents.

1 Samuel 24:21 In-Context

19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the way you treated me today.
20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.
21 Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.”
22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Cross References 2

  • 1. Genesis 21:23; S Genesis 47:31; S 1 Samuel 18:3; 2 Samuel 21:1-9
  • 2. S 1 Samuel 20:14-15
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