Bible Strands
1 Samuel 20:38
Then Jonathan cried out, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not delay!” So the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jonathan shouts to the boy who just reached the arrow's location, commanding immediate departure before the lad picks up the arrow and returns.
The words — The Hebrew מְהֵרָ֥ה (me.hē.rāh) and ח֖וּשָׁ֑ה (ḥūšāh) both function as imperatives meaning "quickly" and "make haste," stressing urgent movement.
The thread — This demand for immediate action parallels the flight instructions in Matthew 24:16 and the desperate longing for swift deliverance in Psalms 55:6.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that obedience must precede full comprehension, as the boy acted on the command without knowing the secret arrangement between Jonathan and David.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
Cross-references
- Psalms 55:6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
- Proverbs 6:4 Allow no sleep to your eyes or slumber to your eyelids.
- Matthew 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Mark 13:14 So when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Luke 17:31 On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.