1 Samuel 20:4

4 And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.

1 Samuel 20:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:4

Then said Jonathan unto David
Now giving credit to what he had said, and in order to comfort and support him under the apprehensions he had of danger:

whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do [it] for thee;
for the preservation of his life, by speaking to his father on his behalf, endeavouring to dissuade him from his evil intentions, or by hiding and concealing him in some obscure place, that he might not execute his evil designs upon him, or by any method he could point out to him.

1 Samuel 20:4 In-Context

2 And he said to him: (God forbid, thou shalt not die: for my father will do nothing, great or little, without first telling me: hath then my father hid this word only from me? no, this shall not be.

3 And he swore again to David. And David said: Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, and he will say: Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there is but one step (as I may say) between me and death.

4 And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.

5 And David said to Jonathan: Behold to morrow is the new moon, and I, according to custom, am wont to sit beside the king to eat: let me go then that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day.

6 If thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him: David asked me that he might run to Bethlehem, his own city: because there are solemn sacrifices there for all of his tribe.