1 Samuel 19:15
in 1 Samuel 19But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them, “Bring him up to me in his bed so I can kill him.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
KJV
And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 19
Commentary
8 notes on this verseNow Michal's name means "reign," because sin reigned over our nature up to that time. And at the very time he himself was born, he [the Lord in the figure of David] went out through a window. And the window indicates the return to the light again of the one who made himself known to those sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.And his image is seen on the bed. For the angel says to those seeking the Lord in the tomb, "Why do you seek the living with the dead? He is not here; he is risen."
This site's exposition
When Saul sent the messengers to seize David
on 1 Samuel 19:14-15
Michal’s lie, "He is ill," buys another day, and Saul’s order to bring David "up to me in his bed so I can kill him" shows how far the pursuit has run. The command exposes the order for what it always was, a private hatred that will not wait for due process. Henry calls it base to hunt a man believed dying, and worse to demand him in his bed.
This site's exposition
in his bed so I can kill him
At 18:17 Saul planned to keep his own hand off David and let the Philistines do the killing. Here he wants to strike the blow himself. Matthew Henry marks the change from that earlier resolve, a king who can no longer wait for any other hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And not in war only, but also in peace the need of deceit may be found, not merely in reference to the affairs of the state but also in private life, in the dealings of husband with wife and wife with husband, son with father, friend with friend, and also children with a parent. For the daughter of Saul would not have been able to rescue her husband out of Saul's hands except by deceiving her father. And her brother, wishing to save him whom she had rescued when he was again in danger, made use of the same weapon as the wife.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And again Saul sent messengers to see David, etc. When the Church was preaching Christ from the advent of the Holy Spirit, the leaders of the Jews sent [people] to more carefully see what was believed about Jesus, whether He was Christ or a prophet; …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It was base and barbarous thus to triumph over a sick man; and to vow the death of one who for aught that he knew was dying by the hand of nature. So earnestly did he thirst after his blood, and so greedy was his revenge, that he could not be pleased to see him dead, unless he himself was the death of him; though awhile ago he had said, Let not my hand be upon him.
"God," says Mr. Henry, "inclined the heart of Saul to hearken to the voice of Jonathan." 8. And David, &c. - So David continues his good service, tho' it was ill requited. They who are ill paid for doing good, yet must not be weary of well doing, remembering how bountiful a benefactor God is, even to the evil and unthankful.
And Saul sent the messengers again to see David,....
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| שָׁאוּל֙ | shaul | Saul | H7586 → | 402 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמַּלְאָכִ֔ים | hamalakhim | the messengers | H4397 → | 213 times |
| לִרְא֥וֹת | lirot | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| לֵאמֹ֑ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַעֲל֨וּ | haalu | bring up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֹת֧וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַמִּטָּ֛ה | vamitah | on the bed | H4296 → | 29 times |
| אֵלַ֖י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| לַהֲמִתֽוֹ׃ | lahamito | to kill him | H4191 → | 839 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
שָׁאוּל֙Saul
shaulH7586 →402 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמַּלְאָכִ֔יםthe messengers
hamalakhimH4397 →213 times
לִרְא֥וֹתto see
lirotH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
לֵאמֹ֑ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
הַעֲל֨וּbring up
haaluH5927 →890 times
אֹת֧וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
בַמִּטָּ֛הon the bed
vamitahH4296 →29 times
אֵלַ֖יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
לַהֲמִתֽוֹ׃to kill him
lahamitoH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Romans 3:15“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:7–8
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Proverbs 1:16
For their feet run to evil, and they are swift to shed blood.
- Proverbs 6:18
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
- Isaiah 59:7–8
Through
Psalms 37:12The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
it leads to
- Micah 2:1
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Psalms 35:16
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
- Daniel 8:12
And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.
- Matthew 26:16
So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.
- Micah 2:1
Through
1 Samuel 19:6Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:24–25
A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Proverbs 26:24–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonUnited monarchySaulIsrael's first king, head and shoulders above the people; began in humility, ended in rejection — sparing what God devoted, consul…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Gregory of Nyssa, ON THE INSCRIPTIONS OF THE PSALMS 2.16.272-73; John Chrysostom, ON THE PRIESTHOOD 1.8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.