1 Samuel 20:15
in 1 Samuel 20and do not ever cut off your loving devotion from my household—not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
KJV
But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseBut also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever,.... His family should partake of it as well as himself: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, everyone from the face of the earth; Saul and his sons, and everyone that should oppose his settlement in the kingdom: Jonathan's meaning is, that the covenant between them should not be only between them personally, but include their posterity, as follows.
This site's exposition
treat me with the LORD’s loving devotion, that I may not die
on 1 Samuel 20:14-15
Jonathan asks first for himself, "treat me with the LORD’s loving devotion," then widens the request to his whole household, even when the LORD cuts off every one of David's enemies. The same word returns at 2 Samuel 9:3, where David asks whether any of Saul's house remains to receive God's kindness and finds Mephibosheth. Jonathan asks here for what David grants there, before David has any throne.
This site's exposition
do not ever cut off your loving devotion from my household
John Wesley explains the fear behind the request. A king from a new line commonly killed the house of the old one, and Jonathan asks David to break that custom. John Gill counts Saul and his sons among the enemies the LORD would cut off.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): Thou shalt promise that thou wilt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever. This he spoke from a natural affection he had to his children, whom he desired it might go well with after his decease, and for whose future welfare he desired to improve his present interest.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Not even when Adonoy cuts off. And also, you will not remove your kindness from them even when retribution befalls my father's house, for I know that God will cut off your enemies. 9 And being that my father’s family is included among your enemies, you will not kill them.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I will not [ask of you] if I still be alive. An expression of request, as in and if only [ וָלאׁ ] it will be given to your bondsman.' 8 II Melachim:17.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַכְרִ֧ת | takhrit | you must cut off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חַסְדְּךָ֛ | chasdekha | covenant loyalty your | H2617 → | 247 times |
| מֵעִ֥ם | meim | from with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| בֵּיתִ֖י | beiti | house my | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָ֑ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| וְלֹ֗א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְּהַכְרִ֤ת | behakhrit | when cuts off | H3772 → | 288 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֹיְבֵ֣י | ʾoyevei | [the] enemies of | H341 → | 282 times |
| דָוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| אִ֕ישׁ | ʾish | everyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| מֵעַ֖ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ | haadamah | the earth | H127 → | 225 times |
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַכְרִ֧תyou must cut off
takhritH3772 →288 times
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חַסְדְּךָ֛covenant loyalty your
chasdekhaH2617 →247 times
מֵעִ֥םfrom with
meimH5973 →1050 times
בֵּיתִ֖יhouse my
beitiH1004 →2046 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָ֑םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
וְלֹ֗אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
בְּהַכְרִ֤תwhen cuts off
behakhritH3772 →288 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֹיְבֵ֣י[the] enemies of
ʾoyeveiH341 →282 times
דָוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
אִ֕ישׁeveryone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
מֵעַ֖לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֲדָמָֽה׃the earth
haadamahH127 →225 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
1 Samuel 24:21So now, swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s house.”
it leads to
- Genesis 21:23
Now, therefore, swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or descendants. Show to me and to the country in which you reside the same…
- 2 Samuel 21:6–8
let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,”…
- 1 Samuel 20:14–17
And as long as I live, treat me with the LORD’s loving devotion, that I may not die,
- Genesis 21:23
Through
2 Samuel 21:7Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 4:4
And Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the report about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up…
- 1 Samuel 23:18
So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
- 1 Samuel 18:3
Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
- 2 Samuel 9:10
You and your sons and servants are to work the ground for him and bring in the harvest, so that your master’s grandson may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, is…
- 1 Samuel 20:8
Therefore deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me…
- 2 Samuel 4:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
