1 Samuel 20:4

4 And Jonathan said to David, Whatever thing thy soul shall say to me, I shall do it to thee. (And Jonathan said to David, Whatever thou shalt ask me, I shall do it for thee.)

1 Samuel 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:4

Then said Jonathan unto David
Now giving credit to what he had said, and in order to comfort and support him under the apprehensions he had of danger:

whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do [it] for thee;
for the preservation of his life, by speaking to his father on his behalf, endeavouring to dissuade him from his evil intentions, or by hiding and concealing him in some obscure place, that he might not execute his evil designs upon him, or by any method he could point out to him.

1 Samuel 20:4 In-Context

2 And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee, thou shalt not die, for my father shall not do anything great either little, no but he show first to me; therefore, (would) my father (have) kept privy from me this word only, forsooth it shall not be. And again he swore to David. (And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee, thou shalt not die, for my father shall not do anything great or small, no but first he tell it to me; would my father have only kept secret this word from me? no, it is not so. And again he swore to David.)

3 And David said, Truly thy father knoweth, that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he shall say, Jonathan know not this, lest peradventure he be sorry; certainly the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, for, that I say so, I and death be parted only by one degree. (And David said, Truly thy father knoweth that I have found favour in thy sight, and he shall say, I will not let Jonathan know this, lest he become angry, or upset; truly, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I say that I and death be separated by only one degree.)

4 And Jonathan said to David, Whatever thing thy soul shall say to me, I shall do it to thee. (And Jonathan said to David, Whatever thou shalt ask me, I shall do it for thee.)

5 And David said to Jonathan, Lo! calends be tomorrow, that is the feast of the new moon, and by custom I am wont to sit by the king to eat; therefore suffer thou me, that I be hid in the field till to [the] eventide of the third day (but instead, allow me to hide in the field until the evening of the third day).

6 And if thy father beholdeth, and asketh after me, thou shalt answer to him, David prayed me, that he might go at once into Bethlehem, his city, for solemn sacrifices be now there to all [the] men of his lineage (for now is the time of the annual sacrifice there for all the men of his family).