Bible Commentaries

And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should ^a kill David.

(a) Before Saul sought David's life secretly, but now his hypocrisy grows to open cruelty.

And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou ^b [art], and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.

(b) That I may warn you what to do.

And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul ^c sware, [As] the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.

(c) Whatever he pretended outwardly, yet his heart was full of malice.

And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David ^d played with [his] hand.

(d) He played on his harp to appease the rage of the evil spirit, (1 Samuel 16:23).

So Michal ^e let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

(e) Thus God moved both the son and daughter of this tyrant to favour David against their father.

And Saul sent the messengers [again] to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the ^f bed, that I may slay him.

(f) Behold, how the tyrants to accomplish their rage, neither regard oath nor friendship, God nor man.

So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in ^g Naioth.

(g) Naioth was a school where the word of God was studied, near Ramah.

And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing ^h [as] appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also ⁱ prophesied.

(h) Being their chief instructor.

(i) Changed their minds and praised God.

And he ^k went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

(k) With a mind to persecute them.

And he stripped off his ^l clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay ^m down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?

(l) His kingly apparel.

(m) He humbled himself as others did.