1 Chronicles 12:17

17 And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

1 Chronicles 12:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 12:17

And David went out to meet them
Out of the hold where he was; either out of respect and deference to them, some of them being persons of eminence; or it may be out of suspicion, fearing they were not his friends, being, it may be, chiefly of the tribe of Benjamin, and therefore was desirous of sounding them before he admitted them:

and said unto them, if ye be come peaceably unto me to help me;
if they were come with a good will to him, and intention to help him against his enemy, and protect him:

mine heart shall be knit unto you;
they should have such a share in his affections, that their hearts would be as one, as his and Jonathan's were, ( 1 Samuel 18:1 ) ,

but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies;
into the hands of Saul, and his courtiers, that sought his life:

seeing there is no wrong in mine hands;
no injury done by him to Saul, or to them, or to any other:

the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it;
he that sees all things, let him revenge it; and it is not only a wish that he would, but a prayer of faith that so it would be.

1 Chronicles 12:17 In-Context

15 These are the ones who crossed the Jordan in the first month when it was overflowing all its banks, and they put to flight all those in the valleys, both to the east and to the west.

16 Other Benjamites and some men from Judah also came to David in his stronghold.

17 And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”

18 Then the Spirit came upon Amasai, the chief of the Thirty, and he said: “We are yours, O David! We are with you, O son of Jesse! Peace, peace to you, and peace to your helpers, for your God helps you.” So David received them and made them leaders of his troops.

19 Some from Manasseh defected to David when he went with the Philistines to fight against Saul. (They did not help the Philistines because the Philistine rulers consulted and sent David away, saying, “It will cost us our heads if he defects to his master Saul.”)