1 Samuel 20:23

23 Certainly of the word that thou and I have spoken, that is, of the bond of peace betwixt us and our heirs (that is, of the covenant between us and our heirs), the Lord be witness betwixt me and thee till into without end.

1 Samuel 20:23 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 20:23

And [as touching] the matter which thou and I have spoken
of
The covenant they had made between them and their families:

behold, the Lord [be] between me and thee for ever:
as a witness of the covenant, and a revenger of those that should break it; so the Targum,

``behold, the Word of the Lord be between me and thee a witness for ever.''

1 Samuel 20:23 In-Context

21 I shall send my child, and I shall say to him, Go thou, and bring to me the arrows. If I say to the child, Lo! the arrows be on this side (of) thee, take thou those; then come thou to me, for peace is to thee, and nothing is of evil, the Lord liveth. (And I shall send my boy, and I shall say to him, Go thou, and bring me the arrows. Now if I say to the boy, Lo! the arrows be on this side of thee, take thou them; then come thou to me, for all is well for thee, and nothing is of evil, as the Lord liveth.)
22 But if I speak thus to the child, Lo! the arrows be beyond thee; go thou in peace, for the Lord hath delivered thee. (But if I speak thus to the boy, Lo! the arrows be beyond thee; then go thou away to save thy own life, for the Lord hath sent thee away.)
23 Certainly of the word that thou and I have spoken, that is, of the bond of peace betwixt us and our heirs (that is, of the covenant between us and our heirs), the Lord be witness betwixt me and thee till into without end.
24 Therefore David was hid in the field; and the calends/the solemn feast came, and the king sat to eat bread (and the king sat down to eat his meal).
25 And when the king had set on his chair (as) by custom, which chair was beside the wall, Jonathan rose, and sat after Abner, and Abner sat at the side of Saul, and the place of David appeared void (and David's place was empty).
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.