Jonathan answered, “David urgently requested my permission to go to Bethlehem,
Parallel translations
- WEB Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem.
- KJV And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:
- NKJV So Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem.
- NASB And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly requested leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
- NLT Jonathan replied, “David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem.
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 answers that David earnestly asked permission to go to Bethlehem.
Overview
Jonathan gives the agreed explanation for David's absence, attributing it to a family obligation in Bethlehem. His answer tests Saul's response without revealing the friends' true purpose. The reply sets up the explosion of Saul's wrath that follows, unmasking the king's murderous intent.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 1
- 1 Sam 20:6If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David urgently requested my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there is an annual sacrifice for his whole clan.’
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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 20:28 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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