Bible Strands
1 Samuel 24:20
Now I know for sure that you will be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul speaks to David in the cave at En Gedi after David refused to kill him. This declaration follows Saul's acknowledgment of David's mercy and his request for a divine reward.
The words — The Hebrew יָדַ֔עְתִּי (ya.Da'.ti) translates as "I know," and מָלֹ֖ךְ (ma.Lokh) means "certainly will reign." These terms frame Saul's statement as a definitive recognition of David's future status rather than a hopeful wish.
The thread — This recognition echoes Jonathan's earlier assurance in 1 Samuel 23:17 and anticipates the northern tribes' later appeal to David in 2 Samuel 3:17. The promise of an established kingdom also contrasts with the political instability surrounding Herod in Matthew 2:3.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of God's sovereign timing over human ambition. It requires readers to accept that divine appointment operates independently of immediate circumstances or human validation.
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 now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 23:17 saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.”
- 2 Samuel 3:17 Now Abner conferred with the elders of Israel and said, “In the past you sought David as your king.
- Matthew 2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
- 1 Samuel 13:14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- 1 Samuel 20:30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?
- Job 15:25 For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
- Matthew 2:13 When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
- Matthew 2:16 When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.