1 Samuel 20:13

13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayst go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

1 Samuel 20:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:13

The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan
Recompense evil more than can be thought of and expressed, should he neglect to inform David of the good disposition of Saul unto him:

but if it please my father [to do] thee evil;
if he seems determined upon it to take away thy life:

then I will show it thee;
not by a messenger, by whom it would not be safe to communicate it, lest by that means Saul would know where he was, and come and slay him; but Jonathan would come himself, and acquaint him with it:

and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace;
give him leave, and advise him to depart, and provide for his own safety, adding his blessing on him, and prayer for him:

and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father;
in the beginning of his reign, giving him counsel and advice in all things, and victory over his enemies, succeeding and prospering him in whatsoever he engaged in; the Targum is,

``the Word of the Lord be for thy help''

Jonathan seemed to be fully apprized that David was to succeed in the kingdom.

1 Samuel 20:13 In-Context

11 And Jonathan said to David: Come, and let us go out into the field. And when they were both of them gone out into the field,

12 Jonathan said to David: O Lord God of Israel, if I shall discover my father’s mind, to morrow, or the day after, and there be any thing good for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and make it known to thee,

13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan, and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayst go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.

14 And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die,

15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.