1 Samuel 23:22
in 1 Samuel 23Please go and prepare further. Investigate and watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there, for I am told that he is extremely cunning.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Go, I pray you, make yet more sure, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there; for it is told me that he dealeth very subtly.
KJV
Go, I pray you, prepare yet, and know and see his place where his haunt is, and who hath seen him there: for it is told me that he dealeth very subtilly.
⋯
This verse in 1 Samuel 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
No wonder, then, that the Ziphites saw David and his men passing to and fro in the mountains of the wilderness. Spying him at a distance when he ventured to show himself on the hill of Hachilah, "on the right hand of the wilderness," that is, the south side of Ziph, they sent in haste to Saul, to tell him of the lurking place of his enemy [VAN DE VELDE].
This site's exposition
watch carefully where he goes and who has seen him there
on 1 Samuel 23:22-25
Saul's caution, wanting certainty of the place before he commits his men, costs him time, and David withdraws south into the Wilderness of Maon. Barnes and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown describe this tableland as broken sharply into ravines, which explains how David could vanish at the rock.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), "for" (says he) "I hear he deals very subtilely," representing him as a man crafty to do mischief, whereas all his subtlety was to secure himself. It was strange that Saul did not go down with them immediately, but he hoped by their means to set his game with the more certainty, and thus divine Providence gave David time to shift for himself.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Go, I pray you, prepare yet,....
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְכוּ־ | lekhu- | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| נָ֞א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| הָכִ֣ינוּ | hakhinu | prepare | H3559 → | 217 times |
| ע֗וֹד | od | still | H5750 → | 490 times |
| וּדְע֤וּ | udeu | and know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וּרְאוּ֙ | ureu | and see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מְקוֹמוֹ֙ | mekomo | place his | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּֽהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | it is | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| רַגְל֔וֹ | raglo | foot his | H7272 → | 247 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | who? | H4310 → | 423 times |
| רָאָ֖הוּ | raahu | has he seen him | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | someone has said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלַ֔י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עָר֥וֹם | arom | certainly <to be crafty> | H6191 → | |
| יַעְרִ֖ם | ya'rim | he is crafty | H6191 → | |
| הֽוּא׃ | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
לְכוּ־go
lekhu-H1980 →1546 times
נָ֞אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
הָכִ֣ינוּprepare
hakhinuH3559 →217 times
ע֗וֹדstill
odH5750 →490 times
וּדְע֤וּand know
udeuH3045 →945 times
וּרְאוּ֙and see
ureuH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מְקוֹמוֹ֙place his
mekomoH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּֽהְיֶ֣הit is
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
רַגְל֔וֹfoot his
ragloH7272 →247 times
מִ֥יwho?
miH4310 →423 times
רָאָ֖הוּhas he seen him
raahuH7200 →1300 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָמַ֣רsomeone has said
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֵלַ֔יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
עָר֥וֹםcertainly <to be crafty>
aromH6191 →
יַעְרִ֖םhe is crafty
ya'rimH6191 →
הֽוּא׃he
hu'H1931 →1879 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach 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
Job 5:13He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Psalms 9:15–16
The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
- Luke 1:51
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
- Psalms 7:15–16
He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19–20
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:19
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.