The Meaning of 1 Samuel 23:20 Explained

1 Samuel 23:20

KJV: Now therefore, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him into the king's hand.

YLT: And, now, by all the desire of thy soul, O king, to come down, come down, and ours is to shut him up into the hand of the king.'

Darby: And now, O king, come down according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and it will be for us to deliver him up into the king's hand.

ASV: Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of thy soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Now therefore, O king,  come down  according to all the desire  of thy soul  to come down;  and our part [shall be] to deliver  him into the king's  hand. 

What does 1 Samuel 23:20 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 23:15-29 - A Relentless Pursuit Foiled
Amid outward strife, God is sure to provide some rill of human love-a tender friendship, a Jonathan. See Psalms 106:46. This is the mission of a friend-to strengthen our hands in God, whisper words of hope, and enter into renewed covenants with us. Is not this what our best Friend does? He finds us out in the deepest woods, and whispers His Fear not. There is no hunted soul to whom Jesus will not come to pour in the oil and wine of His presence.
Let us always strengthen our friends' hands in God. We sometimes weaken their good resolutions by our timid entreaties, as Peter did when he urged the Lord to spare Himself, Matthew 16:22. No, you must always help your friend to be his noblest and strongest. The angel strengthened the Redeemer in the garden. The one word for us to pass on is, "O man, greatly beloved, fear not; peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong," Daniel 10:19.
The Ziphites made a direct bid for Saul's favor, but their plot miscarried. When a man puts his life into God's hands, he has no need to fear "the arrow by day nor the terror by night." Whatever difficulties threaten him, there is ever a way of escape. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 23

1  David, enquiring of the Lord by Abiathar, rescues Keilah
7  God showing him the coming of Saul, and the treachery of the Keilites,
13  he escapes from Keilah
14  In Ziph Jonathan comes and comforts him
19  The Ziphites discover him to Saul
25  At Maon he is rescued from Saul by the invasion of the Philistines
29  He dwells at En Gedi

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 23:20 mean?

therefore now according to all the desire of your soul king to come down come down and our part [shall be] to deliver him into hand of the king
וְ֠עַתָּה לְכָל־ אַוַּ֨ת נַפְשְׁךָ֥ הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ לָרֶ֖דֶת רֵ֑ד וְלָ֥נוּ הַסְגִּיר֖וֹ בְּיַ֥ד הַמֶּֽלֶךְ

וְ֠עַתָּה  therefore  now 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
לְכָל־  according  to  all 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אַוַּ֨ת  the  desire 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אַוָּה  
Sense: desire, lust, will (not necessarily evil).
נַפְשְׁךָ֥  of  your  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
לָרֶ֖דֶת  to  come  down 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
רֵ֑ד  come  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
וְלָ֥נוּ  and  our  part  [shall  be] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, first person common plural
הַסְגִּיר֖וֹ  to  deliver  him 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: סָגוּר 
Sense: to shut, close.
בְּיַ֥ד  into  hand 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ  of  the  king 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.