1 Samuel 20:31

For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
as	הַיָּמִ֗ים hai.ya.Mim	H3117	a day (as the warm hours) · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
son	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jesse	יִשַׁי֙ yi.Shai	H3448	Jishai · proper noun, a man's name
liveth	חַ֣י chai	H2425	to live · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
ground	הָאֲדָמָ֔ה ha.'a.da.Mah	H127	soil (from its general redness) · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
established	תִכּ֖וֹן ti.Kon	H3559	properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
kingdom	וּמַלְכוּתֶ֑ךָ u.mal.khu.Te.kha	H4438	a rule · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
send	שְׁלַ֨ח she.Lach	H7971	to send away · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
fetch	וְקַ֤ח ve.Kach	H3947	to take (in the widest variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
die	בֶן ven-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Samuel 19:6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
1 Samuel 20:8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding,…
1 Samuel 19:11-15 Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David’s wife told him, saying, If tho…
1 Samuel 26:16 This thing is not good that thou hast done. As the LORD liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master, the LORD’s anoin…
2 Samuel 19:28 For all of my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own…
Psalms 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die;

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 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. I. David is missed from the feast on the first day, but nothing is said of him. The king sat upon his seat, to feast upon the peace-offerings as at other times (Sa1 20:25), and yet had his heart as full of envy and malice against David as it could hold. He should first have been reconciled to him, and then have come and offered his gift; but, instead of that, he hoped, at this feast, to drink the blood of David. What an abomination…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:30

Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman--This is a striking Oriental form of abuse. Saul was not angry with his wife; it was the son alone, upon whom he meant, by this style of address, to discharge his resentment. The principle on which it is founded seems to be, that to a genuine filial instinct it is a more inexpiable offense to hear the name or character of a parent traduced, than any personal reproach. This was, undoubtedly, one cause of "the fierce anger" in which the high-minded prince left the table without tasting a morsel.

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:30

Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman - This clause is variously translated and understood. The Hebrew might be translated, Son of an unjust rebellion; that is, "Thou art a rebel against thy own father." The Vulgate, Fili mulieris virum ultro rapientis; "Son of the woman who, of her own accord, forces the man." The Septuagint is equally curious, Υἱε κορασιων αυτομολουντων; "Son of the damsels who came of their own accord." Were these the meaning of the Hebrew, then the bitter reflection must refer to some secret transaction between Saul and Jonathan's mother; which certainly reflects more dishonor on himself than on his brave son. Most sarcasms bear as hard upon the speaker, as they do…

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Dictionary and topics

David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Anger · .Saul, toward Jonathan, on account of his sympathy with David — .Saul, toward Jonathan, on account of his sympathy with David
Arrow · Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David — Shot by Jonathan as a sign to David
Envy · .Saul, of David — .Saul, of David
Jealousy · .Saul, of David — .Saul, of David

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Samuel 20:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:24-34

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:30

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:30

Dictionary and topics

1 Samuel 20:31

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 20:24-34

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 20:30

Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 20:30

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Samuel 20:31

Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 20:24-34

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Samuel 20:30

Rashi on 1 Samuel 20:30