Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
- BSB Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed if your seat is empty.
- NKJV Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
- NASB Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty.
- NLT Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty.
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
Jonathan tells David that his absence will be noticed at the New Moon feast because his seat will be empty.
Overview
Jonathan confirms the plan, noting that David's empty place at the table will surely be marked. The festival meal becomes the testing ground for Saul's intentions. This careful arrangement shows the friends' prudence in seeking certain knowledge before David's final flight.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- 1 Sam 20:5And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
- 1 Sam 20:25And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.
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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 20:18 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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