1Sa 24:17-21 | Clarke

1 Samuel 24:17-21

Verse 19

If a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? - Or rather, Will he send him in a good way? But Houbigant translates the whole clause thus: Si quis, inimicum suum reperiens, dimittit eum in viam bonam, redditur ei adomino sua merces; "If a man, finding his enemy, send him by a good way, the Lord will give him his reward." The words which are here put in italic, are not in the Hebrew text, but they are found, at least in the sense, in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic, and seem necessary to complete the sense; therefore, adds Saul, the Lord will reward thee good for what thou hast done unto me. Verse 20

I know well that thou shalt surely be king - Hebrew, Reigning, thou shalt reign. He knew this before; and yet he continued to pursue him with the most deadly hatred. Verse 21

Swear now - Saul knew that an oath would bind David, though it was insufficient to bind himself; see 1Sam 19:6. He had sworn to his son Jonathan that David should not be slain; and yet sought by all means in his power to destroy him!