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1 Samuel 20:21

in 1 Samuel 20

Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them,’ then come, because as surely as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And, behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as Jehovah liveth.

KJV

And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the Lord liveth.

This verse in 1 Samuel 20

Commentary

3 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

I will shoot three arrows to the side of it

on 1 Samuel 20:20-23

Three arrows and a boy let Jonathan warn David without a face-to-face word, the number matching the three days David waits at the stone. Verse 23 seals the covenant of verses 12 to 17 with "the LORD is a witness between you and me forever" as its oath.

This site's exposition

the arrows are on this side of you

The safe signal is spoken aloud to the boy, so an ordinary errand carries the message. Adam Clarke notes that the archery practice was meant to keep anyone from suspecting a meeting. Jonathan swears even the safe signal by the LORD's life.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

And, behold, I will send a lad,....

The words behind it

25 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְהִנֵּה֙and there!

    vehinehH2009 →843 times

  • אֶשְׁלַ֣חI will send

    ʾeshlachH7971 →845 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַנַּ֔עַרthe lad

    hanaarH5288 →239 times

  • לֵ֖ךְgo

    lekhH1980 →1546 times

  • מְצָ֣אfind

    metza'H4672 →455 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַחִצִּ֑יםthe arrows

    hachitzimH2671 →53 times

  • אִם־<if>

    ʾim-H518 →1069 times

  • אָמֹר֩certainly [if] <to say>

    ʾamorH559 →5305 times

  • אֹמַ֨רI will say

    ʾomarH559 →5305 times

  • לַנַּ֜עַרto the lad

    lanaarH5288 →239 times

  • הִנֵּ֥הthere!

    hinehH2009 →843 times

  • הַחִצִּ֣ים׀the arrows

    hachitzimH2671 →53 times

  • מִמְּךָ֣[are] from you

    mimekhaH4480 →1188 times

  • וָהֵ֗נָּהand hither

    vahenahH2008 →49 times

  • קָחֶ֧נּוּ׀fetch it

    kachenuH3947 →966 times

  • וָבֹ֛אָהand come !

    vavoahH935 →2568 times

  • כִּֽי־for

    ki-H3588 →4482 times

  • שָׁל֥וֹםsafety

    shalomH7965 →236 times

  • לְךָ֛[belongs] to <the> you

    lekha

  • וְאֵ֥יןand there not

    veeinH369 →789 times

  • דָּבָ֖ר[is] anything

    davarH1697 →1440 times

  • חַי־[by] [the] life

    chai-H2416 →498 times

  • יְהוָֽה׃of Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 12:16

    And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 4:2

      and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Zephaniah 1:5

      those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,

    • Joshua 23:7

      So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or…

  • Through

    Jeremiah 4:2

    and if you can swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then the nations will be blessed by Him, and in Him they will glory.”

    it leads to

    • Isaiah 65:16

      Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of truth, and whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the former troubles…

    • Jeremiah 9:24

      But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,”…

    • Genesis 22:18

      And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

    • 2 Corinthians 10:17

      Rather, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

  • Through

    Amos 8:14

    Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria and say, ‘As surely as your god lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as the way of Beersheba lives’—they will fall, never to rise again.”

    it leads to

    • Amos 5:5

      Do not seek Bethel or go to Gilgal; do not journey to Beersheba, for Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will come to nothing.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Samuel

David and Jonathan — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
David and Jonathan — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).