Now I know for sure that you will be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.
Parallel translations
- WEB Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.
- KJV And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
- NKJV And now I know indeed that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
- NASB Now, behold, I know that you will certainly be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.
- NLT And now I realize that you are surely going to be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will flourish under your rule.
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
Saul confesses he knows David will surely be king and the kingdom will be established in his hand. Even Saul admits God's purpose for David.
Overview
In a striking moment, Saul concedes what he has long fought against: that David will reign and that his throne will be secure. This unwilling testimony from David's rival confirms the divine election announced when Samuel anointed David. It assures the reader that God's plan will stand despite all human opposition, a confidence ultimately fulfilled in David's greater Son whose kingdom is everlasting.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Sam 23:17saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”
- 2 Sam 3:17–18Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “In the past you sought David as your king.
- Matt 2:3–6When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
- Matt 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
- 1 Sam 13:14But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- Matt 2:13When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
- 1 Sam 20:30–31Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the disgrace of the mother who bore you?
- Job 15:25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
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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 24:20 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.