Bible Strands
1 Samuel 20:9
“Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jonathan answers David’s request for covenant protection after David asks why Jonathan would hand him over to Saul if the king sought his life.
The words — The Hebrew interjection חָלִ֣ילָה (cha.Li.lah), translated “far be it” or “never,” serves as an emphatic rejection of the proposed scenario, while the conditional clause built on אִם־ (if) and יָדֹ֣עַ/אֵדַ֗ע (know) constructs a rhetorical question about hypothetical knowledge.
The thread — Jonathan’s pledge to disclose danger directly echoes his prior warning about Saul’s murderous plan (1 Samuel 19:2), aligns with his urgent field signal to David (1 Samuel 20:38), and culminates in their final covenant oath (1 Samuel 20:42).
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to acknowledge that covenant loyalty obligates proactive, unfiltered communication when a brother faces mortal threat, explicitly rejecting silence born of fear or self-preservation.
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 said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 19:2 so he warned David, saying, “My father Saul intends to kill you. Be on your guard in the morning; find a secret place and hide there.
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 20:42 And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.