1 Samuel 19:14

14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.”

1 Samuel 19:14 in Other Translations

14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."

14 When the troops came to arrest David, she told them he was sick and couldn’t get out of bed.

14 When Saul's men arrived to get David, she said, "He's sick in bed."

14 When Saul sent agents to seize David, Michal said, "He's sick."

1 Samuel 19:14 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 19:14

And when Saul sent messengers to take David
Either the same who in the morning inquired for David, or those staying longer than Saul expected, and fearing they were negligent or corrupted, he sent others: to whom

she said, he [is] sick;
and in bed, and cannot be spoke with; this lie she told through her affection to David, and to preserve his life; and this stratagem she devised to gain time, that while she was amusing the messengers with this tale of hers, before they could discover the truth of the matter David would be out of their reach; whereas, had she denied his being at home, or signified that he had made his escape, they would have immediately pursued after him, and he would have been in danger of being taken by them.

1 Samuel 19:14 In-Context

12 So Michal let David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.

13 Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats’ hair at the head.

14 When Saul sent the men to capture David, Michal said, “He is ill.”

15 Then Saul sent the men back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him.”

16 But when the men entered, there was the idol in the bed, and at the head was some goats’ hair.

Cross References

• 1. S Exodus 1:19; Joshua 2:4