1 Samuel 20:22

22 But if I tell the boy, 'The arrows are next to you,' then go, because the LORD has sent you away.

1 Samuel 20:22 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:22

But if I say thus unto the young man, behold, the arrows [are]
beyond thee
Being shot to a greater distance than where the young man was:

go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away;
then he was to depart directly, without staying to have any conversation with Jonathan, which would not be safe for either of them, and so make the best of his way into the country, and escape for his life; for so it was ordered by the providence of God, that he must not stay, but be gone immediately: the signals were these, that if things were favourable, then he would shoot his arrows on one side of the lad, and David might come out and show himself at once; but if not, he would shoot them beyond him, by which he might know that he must flee for his life.

1 Samuel 20:22 In-Context

20 I will shoot three arrows from beside it toward a target.
21 Then I will send out a boy and say, 'Go, find the arrows.' Now, if I tell the boy, 'Look, the arrows are next to you; get them,' then come [back with me]. You will be safe, and there will be no trouble. I swear it, as the LORD lives.
22 But if I tell the boy, 'The arrows are next to you,' then go, because the LORD has sent you away.
23 We have made a promise to each other, and the LORD is [a witness] between you and me forever."
24 So David hid in the countryside. When the New Moon Festival came, King Saul sat down to eat the festival meal.
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