1 Samuel 22:23
in 1 Samuel 22Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks your life is seeking mine as well. You will be safe with me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Abide thou with me, fear not; for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: for with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
KJV
Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 22
Commentary
9 notes on this verseStay with me, do not be afraid, etc. Remain, he said, in my love; do not be afraid of those who kill the body: if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you; but where I am, there will my servant also be; if anyone …
This site's exposition
I have occasioned the death
on 1 Samuel 22:22-23
David tells Abiathar plainly, I have occasioned the death of all the persons of thy father's house, owning his own part in the massacre without excusing Doeg's hand or Saul's order. He had suspected as much the day he saw Doeg standing at Nob in the chapter before this one, and he answers his own failure now with shelter rather than despair, abide thou with me, fear not. Henry reads he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life as the pattern David keeps toward every man who suffers for his sake afterward, and Clarke calls the promise the mark of a generosity Saul never showed anyone.
This site's exposition
You will be safe with me
Barnes calls the promise typical of David, who never forgot friends. He compares David's lament for Jonathan at 2 Samuel 1:26 and his kindness to Jonathan's house at 2 Samuel 9:1. Saul seeks the life of Abiathar because he seeks the life of David, so David takes the priest's son into his own care.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
David, having now time to recollect himself, speaks with assurance of his own safety, and promises that Abiathar shall have the full benefit of his protection. It is promised to the Son of David that God will hide him in the shadow of his hand ( Isa. xlix. 2 ), and, with him, all that are his may be sure that they shall be in safeguard, Ps. xci.
1 David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. 2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Abide thou with me, fear not,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The characteristic generosity of David’s disposition breaks out in these words. He never forgot a friend. (Compare 2Sa 1:26; 2Sa 9:1, etc.) David acknowledges that Saul’s enmity against Abiathar is the consequence of his enmity against himself, and therefore David makes common cause with him.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
On hearing his sad tale, David declared that he had dreaded such a fatal result from the malice and intriguing ambition of Doeg; and, accusing himself as having been the occasion of all the disaster to Abiathar's family, David invited him to remain, because, firmly trusting himself in the accomplishment of the divine promise, David could guarantee protection to him.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He that seeketh my life seeketh thy life - The enmity of Saul is directed against thee as well as against me, and thou canst have no safety but in being closely attached to me; and I will defend thee even at the risk of my own life. This he was bound in duty and conscience to do.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁבָ֤ה | shevah | remain ! | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אִתִּי֙ | ʾiti | with me | H854 → | 929 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּירָ֔א | tira' | you be afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [the one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְבַקֵּ֥שׁ | yevakesh | he seeks | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֖י | nafshi | life my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| יְבַקֵּ֣שׁ | yevakesh | he seeks | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ | nafshekha | life your | H5315 → | 754 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִשְׁמֶ֥רֶת | mishmeret | [are] in good care | H4931 → | |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עִמָּדִֽי׃ | ʾimadi | with me | H5978 → | 42 times |
שְׁבָ֤הremain !
shevahH3427 →1079 times
אִתִּי֙with me
ʾitiH854 →929 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּירָ֔אyou be afraid
tira'H3372 →315 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲשֶׁר־[the one] who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יְבַקֵּ֥שׁhe seeks
yevakeshH1245 →225 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשִׁ֖יlife my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
יְבַקֵּ֣שׁhe seeks
yevakeshH1245 →225 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָlife your
nafshekhaH5315 →754 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מִשְׁמֶ֥רֶת[are] in good care
mishmeretH4931 →
אַתָּ֖הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
עִמָּדִֽי׃with me
ʾimadiH5978 →42 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
John 18:9This was to fulfill the word He had spoken: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”
it leads to
- John 17:12
While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture…
- John 17:12
Through
John 15:20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours…
it leads to
- 2 Timothy 3:12
Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
- John 13:16
Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
- Matthew 10:24
A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.
- Ezekiel 3:7
But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
- 1 Corinthians 4:12
We work hard with our own hands. When we are vilified, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it;
- 2 Timothy 3:12
Through
1 Kings 2:26Then the king said to Abiathar the priest, “Go back to your fields in Anathoth. Even though you deserve to die, I will not put you to death at this time, since you carried…
it leads to
- Joshua 21:18
Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
- 1 Samuel 22:20–23
But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped. His name was Abiathar, and he fled to David.
- Joshua 21:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 1 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; 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.