1 Samuel 24:19

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

(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.

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.

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.

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.

"If a man meet with his enemy, will he send him (let him go) in peace?" This sentence is to be regarded as a question, which requires a negative reply, and expresses the thought: When a man meets with an enemy, he does not generally let him escape without injury. But thou hast acted very differently towards me. This thought is easily supplied from the context, and what follows attaches itself to this: "The Lord repay thee good for what thou hast done to me this day."

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

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)

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.