1 Samuel 22:23

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Abide you with me, don't be afraid; for he who seeks my life seeks your life: for with me you shall be in safeguard.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

Septuagint runs longer here — compare

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עִמָּדִֽי

ʻimmâd

H5978

“with · me”

Preposition + Suffix, Personal, 1st Person, Common, Singular

Appears 44× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 3:12

Full BDB Definition

Origin: prol for H5973

TWOT: 1640b

with

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

16: words
12: distinct lemmas
Historical: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

עִמָּדִֽי with H5978 occurs in 44 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

4 verbs
3 nouns
1 pronoun
2 prepositions
2 conjunctions
4 particles

Verb forms

שְׁבָ֤ה Qal · Imperative
תִּירָ֔א Qal · Jussive
יְבַקֵּ֥שׁ Piel · Imperfect
יְבַקֵּ֣שׁ Piel · Imperfect

Repetition

Words recur within this verse — often emphatic in Hebrew:

יְבַקֵּ֥שׁ to seek H1245 ×2
נַפְשִׁ֖י soul H5315 ×2
כִּ֛י that H3588 ×2

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 24 words from the Hebrew and 34 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — the Septuagint runs noticeably longer here. See the side-by-side →

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 16 Hebrew tokens and 23 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to 1 Samuel 22:23 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

1 Kings 2:26 To Abiathar the priest said the king, Get you to Anathoth, to your own fields; for you are worthy of death: but I will not at this time put you to death, because you bear the ark of the Lord Yahweh before David my father, and because you were afflicted in all in which my father was afflicted.
John 10:28–30 I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
Hebrews 12:1–3 Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
John 18:9 that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, "Of those whom you have given me, I have lost none."
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his lord.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.
Matthew 24:9 Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name's sake.
John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you have given me I have kept. None of them is lost, except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 16:2–3 They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he offers service to God.

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

Here the Septuagint runs noticeably longer than the Hebrew — LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) 34 words vs World English Bible 24. A rough length comparison of the two English translations, not a word-level alignment — read both below.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew 1 Samuel 22:23 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

שְׁבָ֤ה אִתִּי֙ אַל תִּירָ֔א כִּ֛י אֲשֶׁר יְבַקֵּ֥שׁ אֶת נַפְשִׁ֖י יְבַקֵּ֣שׁ אֶת נַפְשֶׁ֑ךָ כִּֽי מִשְׁמֶ֥רֶת אַתָּ֖ה עִמָּדִֽי

Abide you with me, don't be afraid; for he who seeks my life seeks your life: for with me you shall be in safeguard.

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX 1 Samuel 22:23 Septuagint · lemma form

καταἧμαι μετά ἐγώ μή φοβέω ὅτι οὗ ἐάν ζητέω ὁ ψυχή ἐγώ τόπος ζητέω καί ὁ ψυχή σύ ὅτι φυλάσσω σύ παρά ἐγώ

Dwell with me; fear not, for wherever I shall seek a place of safety for my life, I will also seek a place for your life, for you are safely guarded while with me.

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Jonathan Prophets (Joshua–Malachi)

תִּיב עִמִי לָא תִדְחַל אֲרֵי דְבָעֵי לְמִקְטְלִי בָּעֵי לְמִקְטְלָךְ אֲרֵי נָטִיר אַתְּ עִמִי:

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Jonathan — Aramaic: “Mikraot Gedolot” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “London "Chaldee Paraphrase," 1871” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on 1 Samuel 22:23 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

1Sa 22:23 Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou [shalt be] in safeguard.

Ver. 23. For he that seeketh.] Tua causa erit mean causa, Thy cause will be my cause, as Charles V said of Julius Flugius, who for his sake had been much wronged by the Duke of Saxony.

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.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Or, he that taketh thy life, shall take mine also.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 23. He that seeketh my life seeketh thy life] The enmity of Saul is directed against thee as well as against me, and thou canst have no safety but in being closely attached to me; and I will defend thee even at the risk of my own life. This he was bound in duty and conscience to do.

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

gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne

23. he that seeketh my life] Our lives are both in danger from one common enemy, so that our interests will be identical.

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.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The characteristic generosity of David’s disposition breaks out in these words. He never forgot a friend. (Compare 2Sa 1:26; 2Sa 9:1, etc.) David acknowledges that Saul’s enmity against Abiathar is the consequence of his enmity against himself, and therefore David makes common cause with him.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Saved. We will be as one soul. On this occasion David composed the 51st Psalm, Quid gloriaris, to reprobate the conduct of Doeg. (Salien) --- We may consider David as the fourth in order of the sacred writers, as he appears after Moses, Josue, and Samuel. (Haydock)

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).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Because God will certainly preserve me to the kingdom which he hath promised; and I by his help will protect thee.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

Ver. 23. (HARETH.)

The defender of the persecuted.

As David afforded protection to Abiathar, so Christ affords protection to those who betake themselves to him. This is not a mere resemblance, but is directly involved in that (his royal office) wherein David was a type or Divine foreshadowing of "the King of kings." They

I ENDURE PERSECUTION FOR HIS SAKE. "He that seeketh my life seeketh thy life." They do so

1. Because of their union with him, and partaking of his life and righteousness, to which "this present evil world" is opposed.

2. Because of their love to him, which will not suffer them to leave him, or be unfaithful to him for the sake of gaining the favour of the world.

3. Because it has been thus ordained. "Unto you it is given," etc. (Php_1:29) "With persecutions", (Mar_10:30) which are an occasion of spiritual blessing. (Mat_5:10)

II MUST ABIDE IN HIS FELLOWSHIP. "Abide thou with me.

1. By unwavering reliance upon him. (Joh_15:4-7; 1Jn_2:28)

2. By intimate intercourse with him.

3. By constant obedience to him.

III FIND SAFETY UNDER HIS PROTECTION. "Fear not; with me thou art in safe guard." "David spoke thus in the firm belief that the Lord would deliver him from his foe and give him the kingdom" (Keil). Christ has "all power in heaven and in earth," and he will assuredly be "a hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest.

1. Because of his love to them.

2. Because of his regard for his kingdom, to which they belong, and which they represent.

3. Because of his express and faithful promise. "Fear not." If the worst that can befall them should happen, even then

Thou, Saviour, art their charmed Bower, Their magic Ring, their Rock, their Tower. D.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

For the man who seeks my life. One person is pursuing both of us. Wherever I escape, you escape, for you will always be in my safeguard; as Targum Yonoson renders, 'for he who seeks to kill me, seeks to kill you.' But, it may also mean, 'whoever will love me, will love you, and whoever will guard my soul, will guard your soul.' There is a similar instance in Scripture, "Men of blood hate a sincere person, but the upright seek his soul.' This is [an instance of] seeking a soul for [doing] good.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

1 Samuel, in the Historical, opens this verse with 16 words (12 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is ʻimmâd (“with”). The Greek Septuagint runs longer here. A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

The word ʻimmâd carries the sense “with.” How does it shape the verse?
How does Genesis 3:12, which shares the word «with», read alongside this verse?
What does the repetition of “to seek” (2× in this one verse) do in this verse?
The Septuagint runs longer here than the Hebrew. What might account for the difference?
These translations render this verse differently. What is at stake in choosing one wording over another?
«שְׁבָ֤ה» is a Qal Imperative verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 16 Hebrew ↔ 23 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 14 words in this verse.
“to seek” occurs 2× in this single verse.
12 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 16 words in this verse.