1 Samuel 23:20

20 Now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. Our part will be to hand him over to the king."

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 Then the two of them made a covenant in the Lord's presence. Afterwards, David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
19 Some Ziphites came up to Saul at Gibeah and said, "David is hiding among us in the strongholds in Horesh on the hill of Hachilah south of Jeshimon.
20 Now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. Our part will be to hand him over to the king."
21 "May you be blessed by the Lord," replied Saul, "for you have taken pity on me
22 Go and check again. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there; they tell me he is extremely cunning.
Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.