1 Samuel 20:16

1 Samuel 20:16

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.

a. NLT: So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David,[fn] saying, “May the LORDdestroy all your enemies!” [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. NIV: So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account.” [THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

c. YLT: And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought it from the hand of the enemies of David; [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Amplified Bible Classic: So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And the Lord will require that this covenant be kept at the hands of David’s enemies. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint:  [should it happen] that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of David, then let the Lord seek out the enemies of David. 

f. The Rubin Edition, The Prophets: Samuel, Rabbinic Commentary: Jonathan also sealed [a covenant] regarding David’s household, and added, “May HASHEM exact punishment from the enemies of David. [THE ARTSCROLL SERIES/RUBIN EDITION THE PROPHETS: SAMUEL Ⓒ Copyright 2002 by MESORAH PUBLICATIONS, Ltd.]

1. “So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying…”

a. [So] Jonathan [Strong: 3083 Yᵉhôwnâthân, yeh-ho-naw-thawn'; from H3068 and H5414; Jehovah-given; Jehonathan, the name of four Israelites:—Jonathan.

b. made [a covenant] [Strong: 3772 kârath, kaw-rath'; a primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces):—be chewed, be con-(feder-) ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league (covenant), × lose, perish, × utterly, × want.]

c. with [Strong: 5973 ʻim, eem; from H6004; adverb or preposition, with (i.e. in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically, equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English):—accompanying, against, and, as (× long as), before, beside, by (reason of), for all, from (among, between), in, like, more than, of, (un-) to, with(-al).]

d. [the] house [Strong: 1004 bayith, bah'-yith; probably from H1129 abbreviated; a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.):—court, daughter, door, + dungeon, family, + forth of, × great as would contain, hangings, home(born), (winter) house(-hold), inside(-ward), palace, place, + prison, + steward, + tablet, temple, web, + within(-out).]

e. [of] David [Strong: 1732 Dâvid, daw-veed'; rarely (fully); דָּוִיד Dâvîyd; from the same as H1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse:—David.]

1). Digging up King David, Randall Price; Israel My Glory Magazine, March-April 2025; Friends of Israel: Scripture records King David’s rise from a lowly shepherd boy to israel’s king and head of a royal dynasty that includes the promised Messiah. However, since many critics have viewed the Bible as a literary composition written centuries later than David, they concluded this larger-than-life individual was fictional. Until the end of the 20th century, David’s name had not appeared in the archaeological record. But in 1993, during excavations at the ancient site of Tel Dan in the modern Golan Heights, a broken fragment of a basalt stele was discovered in secondary use as a wall-building material. An Aramaic inscription on it commemorates Syrian King Hazael’s victory against israel and Judah’s allied forces. A preserved line of the inscription reads, “[I killed Jeho]ram son of [Ahab] king of Israel, and I killed [Ahaz]iahu son of [Jehoram king of the house of David.”  The term house of David appears 26 times in the Hebrew Bible as an official designation for the for the Davidic dynasty. The stele inscription marked the first archaeological evidence of King David’s existence.  Furthermore, a foreigner made this stele around 841 B.C. Critics had argued that the Israelite scribal elite invented David in the 6th century B.C. , but this enemy of Israel acknowledged 300 years earlier that David and his descendants existed and still ruled from Judah about 150 years after David’s death.This finding led to other discoveries of David’s name. The 9th century BC Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) also includes the term house of David. Egyptian hieroglyphics on the wall of the Bubastis Portal at the Temple of Amun in Karnak, which report the campaign in Israel and Judah (925 BCD) of Pharaoh Shoshenq 1 (biblical Shishak), also list David’s name. After David’s death, 20 of his descendants succeeded him on the throne; and archaeology has produced numerous finds attesting to these Davidic kings, including royal seals with royal names in five consecutive generations. In the 21st century, archaeologists added even more finds associated with David. Israelite archaeologists in Jerusalem have uncovered walls and fortifications associated with the ancient City of David that were built upon and utilized the remains of earlier Canaanite and Jebusite fortifications and water systems, just as the bible records for David’s conquest of the Jebusite city (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Further, a massive 12-story, stepped-stone structure at this site revealed the foundation on which David began to build his city (2 Samuel 5:9). It may have served as a retaining wall buttressing either his “Fortress of Zion” or his royal palace.” Another palace from the time of David was found in Khirbet Qeiyafa guarding the ancient border between Judah and the Phillistines. This city lies within sight of the Elah Valley, where David killed Goliath. This battle’s authenticity is confirmed by a potsherd found at the site of Tel es-Safi (Biblical Gath), the giants home, with the name Goliath scratched on its surface. The potsherd dates to almost a century after Goliaths life, providing evidence that other in his hometown preserved his memory by adopting his name.Critics no longer deny David’s historicity. Archaeology has demonstrated that david and his kingdom were real and accurately recorded in the bible. 

2. “…saying Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.”

a. [saying Let the] LORD [Strong: 3068 Yᵉhôvâh, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:—Jehovah, the Lord.]

b. require [it] [Strong: 1245 bâqash, baw-kash'; a primitive root; to search out (by any method, specifically in worship or prayer); by implication, to strive after:—ask, beg, beseech, desire, enquire, get, make inquisition, procure, (make) request, require, seek (for).]

c. [at the] hand [Strong: 3027 yâd, yawd; a primitive word; a hand (the open one [indicating power, means, direction, etc.], in distinction from 3709, the closed one); used (as noun, adverb, etc.) in a great variety of applications, both literally and figuratively, both proximate and remote [as follows]:—( be) able, × about, armholes, at, axletree, because of, beside, border, × bounty, broad, (broken-) handed, × by, charge, coast, consecrate, creditor, custody, debt, dominion, × enough, fellowship, force, × from, hand(-staves, -y work), × he, himself, × in, labour, large, ledge, (left-) handed, means, × mine, ministry, near, × of, × order, ordinance, × our, parts, pain, power, × presumptuously, service, side, sore, state, stay, draw with strength, stroke, swear, terror, × thee, × by them, × themselves, × thine own, × thou, through, × throwing, thumb, times, × to, × under, × us, × wait on, (way-) side, where, wide, × with (him, me, you), work, yield, × yourselves.

d. [of] David’s [Strong: 1732 Dâvid, daw-veed'; rarely (fully); דָּוִיד Dâvîyd; from the same as H1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse:—David.]

e. enemies [Strong: 341 ʼôyêb, o-yabe'; or (fully) אוֹיֵב ʼôwyêb; active participle of H340; hating; an adversary:—enemy, foe.