8 Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
And Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
And they two made a covenant before Jehovah; and David abode in the wood, and Jonathan went to his house.
And Absalom said to Joab, Behold, I sent to thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Why am I come from Geshur? it would have been better for me to be there still. And now let me see the king's face; and if there be iniquity in me, let him slay me.
And Jonathan made [a covenant] with the house of David, [saying,] Let Jehovah even require [it] at the hand of David's enemies!
And now, if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me; and I will turn to the right hand or to the left.
And the days of Israel approached that he should die. And he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me: bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt;
And the men said to her, Our lives shall pay for yours, if ye do not make this our business known; and it shall be when Jehovah shall give us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
The ùGod of gods, Jehovah, the ùGod of gods, Jehovah, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know [it]; if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah, -- save us not this day!
And David went out to meet them, and answered and said to them, If ye come peaceably to me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you; but if to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in my hands, the God of our fathers see [it] and rebuke [it].
If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (indeed I have freed him that without cause oppressed me;) Let the enemy pursue after my soul, and take [it], and let him tread down my life to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
Let not loving-kindness and truth forsake thee; bind them about thy neck, write them upon the tablet of thy heart:
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 1 Samuel 20
Commentary on 1 Samuel 20 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 20
David, having several times narrowly escaped Saul's fury, begins to consider at last whether it may not be necessary for him to retire into the country and to take up arms in his own defence. But he will not do so daring a thing without consulting his faithful friend Jonathan; how he did this, and what passed between them, we have an account in this chapter, where we have as surprising instances of supernatural love as we had in the chapter before of unnatural hatred.
1Sa 20:1-8
Here,
1Sa 20:9-23
Here,
1Sa 20:24-34
Jonathan is here effectually convinced of that which he was so loth to believe, that his father had an implacable enmity to David, and would certainly be the death of him if it were in his power; and he had like to have paid very dearly himself for the conviction.
1Sa 20:35-42
Here is,