1 Samuel 23:20

20 Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”

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 So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.

19 Then the Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, “Is not David hiding among us in the strongholds at Horesh, on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon?

20 Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”

21 “May you be blessed by the LORD,” replied Saul, “for you have had compassion on me.

22 Please go and prepare further. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning.