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So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat.
1 Samuel 20:24 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon had come, the king sat himself down to eat food.
  • KJV So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.
  • NKJV Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.
  • NASB So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.
  • NLT So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat.

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 hides in the field as the New Moon feast begins and the king sits down to eat.

Overview

The plan is set in motion: David conceals himself while Saul takes his place at the festival meal. The narrative builds tension as the test of Saul's heart commences. The empty seat that will soon be noticed becomes the means by which David's standing with the king is finally revealed.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Prov 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
  • Prov 17:1Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.
  • Isa 1:11–15“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
  • Ps 50:16–21To the wicked, however, God says, “What right have you to recite My statutes and to bear My covenant on your lips?
  • Prov 15:17Better a dish of vegetables where there is love than a fattened ox with hatred.
  • Prov 4:17For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.
  • Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
  • Zech 7:6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
  • John 18:28Then they led Jesus away from Caiaphas into the Praetorium. By now it was early morning, and the Jews did not enter the Praetorium, to avoid being defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 20:24YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 20:24 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.