For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me today.
Parallel Translations
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For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? Therefore may Yahweh reward you good for that which you have done to me today.
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For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
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(24-20) For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that which thou hast done unto me this day.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 24:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Judges 17:2 He said to his mother, “The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears—behold, the silver is with me. I took it.” His mother said, “May Yahweh bless my son!”
- 1 Samuel 23:21 Saul said, “You are blessed by Yahweh; for you have had compassion on me.
- 1 Samuel 26:25 Then Saul said to David, “You are blessed, my son David. You will both do mightily, and will surely prevail.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
- Psalms 18:20 Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, he has recompensed me.
- Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (8 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 24:19 For if a man find his enemy,…
1Sa 24:19 For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the LORD reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
Ver. 19. For if a man find his enemy; will he let him go well away?] Not likely, unless he be more than a natural man; for we are all revengeful enough. Aristotle thinketh revenge lawful. Mohammed’s laws run thus - Avenge yourselves of your enemies; marry as many wives as you can maintain; kill the infidels, &c. But we have not so learned Christ. God giveth more grace, &c.
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For that thou hast done unto me this day.] Thou hast given me my life, which is more to me than my kingdom. Therefore David, though but a subject, was herein greater than King Saul; Nil enim ira magnum et magnanimum facit, {a} for nothing showeth more a magnanimous man, than to love an enemy, and to pardon injuries.
{a} A. Lap.
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 Will he let him go well away? i. e.…
Will he let him go well away? i. e. he will certainly destroy him. And therefore thou hast not dealt with me after the manner of men, but hast imitated the clemency of God in this act.
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 For if a man find his enemy, will he…
For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away?.... Or "in a good way" (e), in peace and safety, without doing him any hurt; this is not usual among men, and yet this was the present case; David had found his enemy Saul, which Saul tacitly owns, and yet had let him go well away from him, without hurting him:
wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day; he does not promise to reward him himself, but prays the Lord to reward him; and had he been sincere in it, he could not have done better for him. Some connect the former clause with this, after this manner, "if a man find his enemy, and let him go away, the Lord will reward him, the Lord reward thee", &c. so the Syriac and Arabic versions.
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(e) "in via bona", Pagninus, Montanus.
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 The Lord reward thee - Because he thought himself…
The Lord reward thee - Because he thought himself not able to recompense so great a favour, he prays God to recompense it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. If a man find his enemy, will…
Verse 19. If a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away?] Or rather, Will he send him in a good way? But Houbigant translates the whole clause thus: Si quis, inimicum suum reperiens, dimittit eum in viam bonam, redditur ei adomino sua merces; "If a man, finding his enemy, send him by a good way, the Lord will give him his reward." The words which are here put in italic, are not in the Hebrew text, but they are found, at least in the sense, in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic, and seem necessary to complete the sense; therefore, adds Saul, the Lord will reward thee good for what thou hast done unto me.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. find his enemy] Get him into his power.…
19. find his enemy] Get him into his power. Cp. 1Sa_23:17; Psa_21:8.
will he let him go well away] A negative answer is of course to be supplied. “No: yet thou hast done so to me: wherefore, &c.”
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Will he let him go well away? Hebrew, "will…
Will he let him go well away? Hebrew, "will he let him go on a good way?" i.e. will he let him go on his way in peace, unhurt? As David, nevertheless, had let his enemy go unharmed, Saul, touched momentarily by his generosity, prays that Jehovah will reward him for what he had done.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 For if a man finds his enemy, will he…
For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go safely?
A rhetorical question with the answer included in the question. AT: "For if a man finds his enemy, he will not let him go safely." (See: Rhetorical Question)
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For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go safely?
Where Saul had believed David was his enemy, he learns that even though David will be king, David will not take over the throne from Saul by force, but will wait for Yahweh's appointed time.
the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand
This can be stated in active form. Possible meanings are 1) David will cause the kingdom of Israel to prosper through his power as king. AT: "the kingdom of Israel will prosper as you rule the Israelite people" or 2) Yahweh will cause David to have complete control over the kingdom of Israel. AT: "you will have complete rule over the kingdom of Israel" (See: Active or Passive)
in your hand
The word "hand" is a metonym that represents power or control. (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
adversary
Yahweh
reward
king
kingdom of Israel
hand
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.