21 Ittai answered the king, and said, "As Yahweh lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in what place my lord the king shall is, whether for death or for life, even there also will your servant be."
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And Ittai answered the king, and said,.... With an oath, as follows:
as the Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth; which he took to confirm what he after says, and to put an end to the debate between them:
surely, in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be; signifying that he would attend him wherever he went, hazard his life in his cause, and live and die with him.
But Ittai replied with a solemn oath, "Assuredly at the place where my lord the king shall be (stay), whether for death or life, there will thy servant be." אם כּי means "only," as in Genesis 40:14, Job 42:8; here, in a declaration on oath, it is equivalent to assuredly (vid., Ewald, 356, b.). The Chethib is therefore correct, and the erasure of אם in the Keri is a bad emendation. The כּי in the apodosis is either an emphatic declaration, yea, or like ὅτι merely introduces a distinct assertion.
Will thy servant be - He is a friend indeed, who loves at all times, and will cleave to us in adversity. Thus should we cleave to the Son of David, that neither life, nor death may separate us from his love.
*More commentary available at chapter level.