Chronicles I 12:17

17 And David went out to meet them, and said to them, If ye are come peaceably to me, let my heart be at peace with you: but if to betray me to my enemies unfaithfully, the God of your fathers look upon it, and reprove it.

Chronicles I 12:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Chronicles 12:17

And David went out to meet them
Out of the hold where he was; either out of respect and deference to them, some of them being persons of eminence; or it may be out of suspicion, fearing they were not his friends, being, it may be, chiefly of the tribe of Benjamin, and therefore was desirous of sounding them before he admitted them:

and said unto them, if ye be come peaceably unto me to help me;
if they were come with a good will to him, and intention to help him against his enemy, and protect him:

mine heart shall be knit unto you;
they should have such a share in his affections, that their hearts would be as one, as his and Jonathan's were, ( 1 Samuel 18:1 ) ,

but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies;
into the hands of Saul, and his courtiers, that sought his life:

seeing there is no wrong in mine hands;
no injury done by him to Saul, or to them, or to any other:

the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it;
he that sees all things, let him revenge it; and it is not only a wish that he would, but a prayer of faith that so it would be.

Chronicles I 12:17 In-Context

15 These the that crossed over Jordan in the first month, and it had overflowed all its banks; and they drove out all the inhabitants of the valleys, from the east to the west.

16 And there came of the sons of Benjamin and Juda to the assistance of David.

17 And David went out to meet them, and said to them, If ye are come peaceably to me, let my heart be at peace with you: but if to betray me to my enemies unfaithfully, the God of your fathers look upon it, and reprove it.

18 And the Spirit came upon Amasai, a captain of the thirty, and he said, Go, David, son of Jesse, thou and thy people, peace, peace be to thee, and peace to thy helpers, for thy God has helped thee. And David received them, and made them captains of the forces.

19 And came to David from Manasse, when the Philistines came against Saul to war: and he helped them not, because the captains of the Philistines took counsel, saying, With the heads of those men will he return to his master Saul.