Come down whenever you’re ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now therefore, O king, come down. According to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part will be to deliver him up into the king’s hand.”
- KJV Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.
- BSB Now, O king, come down whenever your soul desires, and we will be responsible for delivering him into your hand.”
- NKJV Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king’s hand.”
- NASB Now then, O king, come down, since you fully desire to do so; and our part shall be to hand him over to the king.”
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
The Ziphites urge Saul to come down, pledging to hand David over to him.
Overview
The Ziphites invite Saul to act on his desire and promise to deliver David into his hand. Their eagerness to please the king reveals hearts more set on Saul's favor than on justice. This betrayal heightens David's peril and his dependence on the LORD for deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 1 Sam 23:12Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul?” Yahweh said, “They will deliver you up.”
- 2 Kgs 10:5–7He who was over the household, and he who was over the city, the elders also, and those who raised the children, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and will do all that you ask us. We will not make any man king. You do that which is good in your eyes.”
- 1 Kgs 21:11–14The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters which she had written and sent to them.
- 2 Sam 3:21Abner said to David, “I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your soul desires.” David sent Abner away; and he went in peace.
- Prov 11:23The desire of the righteous is only good. The expectation of the wicked is wrath.
- Prov 29:26Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man’s justice comes from Yahweh.
- Ps 112:10The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
- Deut 18:6If a Levite comes from any of your gates out of all Israel, where he lives as a foreigner, and comes with all the desire of his soul to the place which Yahweh shall choose;
- Ps 54:3For strangers have risen up against me. Violent men have sought after my soul. They haven’t set God before them. Selah.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 23:20 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.