1 Samuel 20:31

31 For {as long as} the son of Jesse [is] alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for {he will surely die}!"

1 Samuel 20:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:31

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou
shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom
He would not, though heir to the crown, be sure of it; it would be precarious to him, he would be in great danger of being deprived of it on the death of his father; and therefore it would be his highest wisdom to deliver David up to be slain, as it was his greatest folly to protect him, and provide for his satiety:

wherefore now send and fetch him unto me;
send to Bethlehem for him to come to court directly:

for he shall surely die;
or he is "the son of death" ^F7; guilty of death, as the Targum, deserves to die, and Saul was determined upon his death if possible.

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (twm Nb) "filius mortis", V. L. Montanus, Vatablus, Piscator; "reus mortis", Junius & Tremellius.

1 Samuel 20:31 In-Context

29 He said, 'Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice [is] in the city, and my brother commanded me [to be present]. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the table of the king."

30 Then {Saul became angry} at Jonathan and said to him, "[You] son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?

31 For {as long as} the son of Jesse [is] alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for {he will surely die}!"

32 But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"

33 Then Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew {that his father had decided} to kill David.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "all the days which"
• [b]. Literally "he [is] a son of death"