2 Samuel 18:25

25 The sentry called and told the king, and the king said, "If he [is] alone, good news is in his mouth." {He kept coming closer}.

2 Samuel 18:25 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 18:25

And the watchman cried and told the king
Called with a loud voice from the roof of the watchtower to the king, sitting between the gates, and informed him what he saw:

and the king said, if he [be] alone [there is] tidings in his mouth;
for if the army was routed and fled, and were pursued, there would be more in company, or several running one after another; but being but one, it was highly improbable that he was sent express:

and he came apace, and drew near;
which was another sign of his being a messenger, the haste he made towards the city.

2 Samuel 18:25 In-Context

23 "{Come what may}, I want to run." He said to him, "Run," so Ahimaaz ran on the road on the plain, and he passed the Cushite.

24 Now David [was] sitting between the two gates, and the sentinel went up to the roof of the gate by the wall and he lifted up his eyes and watched, and look, a man [was] running by himself.

25 The sentry called and told the king, and the king said, "If he [is] alone, good news is in his mouth." {He kept coming closer}.

26 Then the sentinel saw another man running, so the sentinel called to the gatekeeper and said, "Look, a man running alone." The king said, "This one also [is] bringing good news."

27 The sentinel said, "I [am] seeing [that] the running of the first [is] like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zakok." The king said, "He [is] a good man; he will come, for good news."

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "And he came, coming and near"