Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
Parallel translations
- WEB Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if perchance your father answers you roughly?”
- BSB Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
- 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 Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food.
- Gen 42:30The man, who is the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.
- 1 Sam 25:10And Nabal answered David’s servants, and said, Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now a days that break away every man from his master.
- 1 Sam 20:30–34Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness?
- 1 Sam 25:17Now therefore know and consider what thou wilt do; for evil is determined against our master, and against all his household: for he is such a son of Belial, that a man cannot speak to him.
- 1 Sam 25:14But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, saying, Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he railed on them.
- Prov 18:23The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
- 1 Kgs 12:13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men’s counsel that they gave him;
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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 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
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