1 Samuel 20:21

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.)

1 Samuel 20:21 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:21

And, behold, I will send a lad
That attended on him, and carried his bow and arrows, and fetched his arrows when he had shot them:

[saying], go, find out the arrows;
where they are fallen, and return them:

if I expressly say unto the lad, behold, the arrows [are] on this side
of thee, take them;
on one side of him, whether the one or the other, which he would bid him take up, and bring them to him:

then come thou;
David, out of the place where he hid himself:

for [there is] peace to thee, and no hurt, [as] the Lord liveth;
he might appear, and not be afraid of being seen by any, since by this sign he might be assured that Saul was well affected to him, and would show him favour, and do him no injury; and that he might promise himself prosperity and safety, and be assured of it for the present.

1 Samuel 20:21 In-Context

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.