And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

And Jonathan said to David: Go in peace: and let all stand that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying: The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And David arose, and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. :43 And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

and Jonathan saith to David, 'Go in peace, in that we have sworn, we two, in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah is between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, unto the age;' and he riseth and goeth; and Jonathan hath gone in to the city.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for as much as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we two have taken an oath, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. Then David went away, and Jonathan went into the town.

Jonathan said to David, 'Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.' He arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.

Then Jonathan said to David: "Go in peace. And let us both keep all that we have ever sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, even forever.' " And David rose up and went away. But Jonathan entered into the city.

Jonathan went into the city - From which one may infer, what the after history also indicates, that Jonathan's filial duty and patriotism prevented a complete rupture with his father. Jonathan's conduct in this, as in everything, was most admirable.

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have (t) sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
(t) Which oath he calls the covenant of the Lord in (1-Samuel 20:8).

And Jonathan said to David, go in peace,.... In peace of mind, committing himself, his family, and affairs, to the providence of God, who would take care of him, and keep him in safety from the evil designs of Saul; and particularly he would have him be easy with respect to what had passed between them two, not doubting but it would be faithfully observed on both sides:
forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord: had made a covenant with each other by an oath, in the name and presence of God as a witness to it:
saying, the Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever; as a witness of the agreement between them, including them and their offspring, and as a revenger of such that should break it. The Targum is,"the Word of the Lord be between thee and me, &c."
and he arose and departed; that is, David arose from the ground, and took his leave of Jonathan, and departed into the country for the safety of his person and life:
and Jonathan went into the city; into the city of Gibeah, where Saul dwelt and had his court.

Jonathan said to David, Go in peace--The interview being a stolen one, and every moment precious, it was kindness in Jonathan to hasten his friend's departure.

All that is given of the conversation between the two friends is the parting word spoken by Jonathan to David: "Go in peace. What we two have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever:" sc., let it stand, or let us abide by it. The clause contains an aposiopesis, which may be accounted for from Jonathan's deep emotion, and in which the apodosis may be gathered from the sense. For it is evident, from a comparison of 1-Samuel 20:23, that the expression "for ever" must be understood as forming part of the oath. - 1-Samuel 21:1. David then set out upon his journey, and Jonathan returned to the town. This verse ought, strictly speaking, to form the conclusion of 1 Samuel 20.
(Note: In our English version it does; but in the Hebrew, which is followed here, it forms the opening verse of 1-Samuel 21:1-15. In the exposition of the following chapter it has been thought better to follow the numbering of the verses in our version rather than that of the original, although the latter is conformed to the Hebrew. - Tr.)
The subject to "arose" is David; not because Jonathan was the last one spoken of (Thenius), but because the following words, "and Jonathan came," etc., are in evident antithesis to "he arose and went."