Nevertheless Saul didn’t say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean.”
Parallel Translations
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Nevertheless Saul didn’t say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean.”
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Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
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Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day; for he thought: 'Something hath befallen him, he is unclean; surely he is not clean.'
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 20:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 15:5 Whoever touches his bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 11:24 “ ‘By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 11:27 Whatever goes on its paws, among all animals that go on all fours, they are unclean to you. Whoever touches their carcass shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 7:20-21 but the soul who eats of the meat of the sacrifice of peace offerings that belongs to Yahweh, having his uncleanness on him, that soul shall be cut off from his people. When anyone touches any unclean thing, the uncleanness of man, or an unclean animal, or any unclean abomination, and eats some of the meat of the sacrifice of peace offerings which belong to Yahweh, that soul shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
- Leviticus 11:31 These are they which are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches them when they are dead shall be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 11:40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 15:16-17 “ ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening. Every garment and every skin which the semen is on shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Leviticus 15:19-21 “ ‘If a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days. Whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. “ ‘Everything that she lies on in her impurity shall be unclean. Everything also that she sits on shall be unclean. Whoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
- Numbers 19:16 “Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
- 1 Samuel 16:5 He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Yet he might have some business to let him.
Yet he might have some business to let him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 20:26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that…
1Sa 20:26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he [is] not clean; surely he [is] not clean.
Ver. 26. Something hath befallen him.] Casus est, it is some of those chances wherewith men are defiled and unfitted for holy services; such as were the touching of dead bodies, nocturnal pollutions, &c. {Lev 7:19-20}
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He is not clean.] Himself, then, surely was clean, sc., from those legal pollutions; but his heart was full of filth, and his hands of blood. This is the guise of hypocrites.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Something hath befallen; some accident which hath rendered him…
Something hath befallen; some accident which hath rendered him unclean, and so unfit to partake of this feast, which consisted in part of the remainders of these peace-offerings, according to the law, Lev 7:20; unfit also to come into any company, much more into the king’s company, lest he should pollute them also. See Poole "1Sa 20:5". See also Le 11 Le 15.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day,.... About David's…
Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day,.... About David's absence, took no notice of it, said nothing about it:
for he thought something had befallen him; some impurity, some nocturnal pollution, see Lev 15:16,
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he is not clean, surely he is not clean; which he repeated in his mind for the confirmation of it, and in contempt, and to the reproach of David; and in this way he accounted for his absence the first day, and so was easy, it not being lawful and fitting for an unclean person in a ceremonial sense to eat of the peace offerings, which Saul and his family were now partaking of.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Something - Some accident which has rendered him unclean,…
Something - Some accident which has rendered him unclean, and so unfit to partake of this feast, which consisted in part of the remainders of the peace-offerings, according to the law, Levit vii, 20. Unfit also to come into any company, much more, into the king's company, lest he should pollute them also.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain He is not clean - The new moon being…
He is not clean - The new moon being a religious feast, and the meat to be eaten being peace-offerings, no one could assist at the feast who had any ceremonial uncleanness upon him (marginal references).
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Purified, having perhaps touched some dead body, &c., Leviticus…
Purified, having perhaps touched some dead body, &c., Leviticus xi. 24.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain he is not clean--No notice was taken of David's…
he is not clean--No notice was taken of David's absence, as he might be laboring under some ceremonial defilement.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. He is not clean — Some ceremonial defilement…
26. He is not clean — Some ceremonial defilement prevents his attendance at this festival of the new moon. Compare marginal references.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26. he is not clean] Persons who were ceremonially…
26. he is not clean] Persons who were ceremonially unclean were peremptorily excluded from participating in a religious festival. See Lev_7:20-21; 1Sa_16:5.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 He is not clean; surely he is not clean
He is not clean; surely he is not clean
According to the law of Moses, a person who is ceremonially unclean is not to participate in the feast until the priest declares that he is clean. Saul repeats this phrase as if he is trying to convince himself.
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translationWords
Saul (OT)
clean
Jesse
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 20:26-27 A number of circumstances could render a person…
20:26-27 A number of circumstances could render a person ceremonially unclean and thus unfit for attending a sacred festival (see Lev 7:20-21). Often, an unclean person was required to be excluded from such functions only until the evening of the same day (Lev 15). This explains why Saul became suspicious after David did not arrive the next day. • Saul referred to David as the son of Jesse (also in 1 Sam 20:31; 22:7), a description that functioned as David’s surname.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.