1 Samuel 23:20

20 Now therefore come thou down, as thy soul desired, that thou shouldest come down; forsooth it shall be our doing, that we betake him into the hands of the king. (And so now come thou down, as thy soul truly desireth to come down; and it shall be our doing that we deliver him into thy hands.)

1 Samuel 23:20 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 23:20

Now therefore, O king, come down
From Gibeah to Ziph, and the wilderness of it, where David was:

according to all the desires of thy soul to come down;
to seize such a prey which he was greatly desirous of, and of nothing more so than of that according to Abarbinel, the sense is, that the thing was ready in whatever way he should desire it; if he chose to come down himself, and lay hold on him, they invite him to come down; but if he did not choose to come down himself, they would seize him, and bring him to him, and deliver him up into his hand, and so he would be under no necessity of going down after him:

and our part [shall be] to deliver him into the king's hand;
this we will take upon us to do, and save the king the trouble of coming down.

1 Samuel 23:20 In-Context

18 Therefore ever either smote (a) bond of peace before the Lord. And David dwelled in the wood; and Jonathan turned again into his house. (And so they both struck a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the forest; and Jonathan returned home.)

19 Certainly men of Ziph went up to Saul in Gibeah, and said, Lo! whether not David is hid with us in the full secure places in the thick wood(s), in the hill of Hachilah, that is at the right side of desert? (Then men of Ziph went up to Saul in Gibeah, and said, Lo! David is hid among us in the most secure places, in the thick forest on Mount Hachilah, which is to the south of Jeshimon.

20 Now therefore come thou down, as thy soul desired, that thou shouldest come down; forsooth it shall be our doing, that we betake him into the hands of the king. (And so now come thou down, as thy soul truly desireth to come down; and it shall be our doing that we deliver him into thy hands.)

21 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord, for ye [have] sorrowed for my stead/for my while (for ye be concerned about my situation)

22 Therefore, I pray you, go ye, and make ready more diligently, and do ye more curiously, either attentively, and behold ye swiftly, where his foot is, either who saw him there, where ye said; for he thinketh on me, that fellily I ambush him. (And so, I pray you, go ye, and more diligently, yea, most attentively, seek ye him out, and quickly see ye, where his foot is, and who saw him there, where ye said; for he thinketh, that I am foolish to even try to ambush him.)