Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
Parallel translations
- WEB Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if perchance your father answers you roughly?”
- KJV Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
- NKJV Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”
- NASB Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me if your father answers you harshly?”
- NLT Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
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
David asks how Jonathan will get word to him if Saul answers harshly.
Overview
David, ever mindful of his danger, asks for a reliable means of communication should the test reveal Saul's anger. His practical concern shows wisdom in arranging a safe signal. The question prompts the plan with the arrows that follows, ensuring David can flee in time.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gen 42:7And when Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them as strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where have you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We are here to buy food.”
- Gen 42:30“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the country.
- 1 Sam 25:10But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
- 1 Sam 20:30–34Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the disgrace of the mother who bore you?
- 1 Sam 25:17Now consider carefully what you must do, because disaster looms over our master and all his household. For he is such a scoundrel that nobody can speak to him!”
- 1 Sam 25:14Meanwhile, one of Nabal’s young men informed Nabal’s wife Abigail, “Look, David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet our master, but he scolded them.
- Prov 18:23The poor man pleads for mercy, but the rich man answers harshly.
- 1 Kgs 12:13And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 20:10 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.