Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore an oath: “As surely as the LORD lives, David will not be put to death.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan: and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.”
- KJV And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
- NKJV So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.”
- NASB Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death.”
- NLT So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Saul heeds Jonathan and swears by the Lord that David will not be put to death.
Overview
Jonathan's intercession succeeds for the moment, and Saul takes an oath in the Lord's name to spare David. The temporary reconciliation shows that even a hardened heart can be restrained. Yet Saul's later breaking of this oath exposes the instability of a man not surrendered to God, whose reform is shallow and short-lived.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Prov 26:24–25A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Jer 5:2Although they say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ they are swearing falsely.”
- 1 Sam 14:39As surely as the LORD who saves Israel lives, even if it is my son Jonathan, he must die!” But not one of the troops said a word.
- 1 Sam 28:10Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”
- 1 Sam 19:10–11Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But the spear struck the wall and David eluded him, ran away, and escaped that night.
- Ps 15:4who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
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Christ at the center
The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.
How 1 Samuel 19:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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