1st Samuel Chapter 20 verse 25 Holy Bible
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.
read chapter 20 in ASV
And the king took his seat, as at other times, by the wall: and Jonathan was in front, and Abner was seated by Saul's side, but there was no one in David's seat.
read chapter 20 in BBE
And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
read chapter 20 in DARBY
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
read chapter 20 in KJV
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
read chapter 20 in WBT
The king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.
read chapter 20 in WEB
and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after.
read chapter 20 in YLT
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(25) David's place was empty.--All took place as the two friends had calculated. Saul's seat was by the wall--then, as now, in the East the highest place of honour was opposite the door. The exact meaning of the phrase, "and Jonathan arose," has been disputed. The LXX. translate here from a different text thus: "He (Saul) went before Jonathan." Keil speaks of this, however, as "the senseless rendering of the Greek Version." The sense in which this difficult passage is understood by Abarbanel and Rashi seems on the whole the best. Understanding that Jonathan had already seated himself after Saul, and that David's absence was observed, "he (Jonathan) arose and seated Abner at Saul's side," that is, in the place left vacant by David's absence, in order that the seat next to Saul might not be empty, he himself having taken the seat on the other side of Saul. This rendering considers vayeshev as causative, a verb in the Hipnil conjugation, written defectively, as in 2Chronicles 10:2; so Lange, who also quotes Kitto as suggesting an explanation of Saul's expecting David's presence at all at the new moon feast. David, after the strange events at Naioth by Ramah, would suppose (so the king thought) that Saul's feelings towards him had undergone a complete change, and that now, after the ecstasy into which Saul had fallen, he would be once more friendly with him as aforetime.Parallel Commentaries ...HebrewHeהַ֠מֶּלֶךְ (ham·me·leḵ)Article | Noun - masculine singularStrong's 4428: A kingsatוַיֵּ֣שֶׁב (way·yê·šeḇ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marryinעַל־ (‘al-)PrepositionStrong's 5921: Above, over, upon, againsthis usualכְּפַ֣עַם ׀ (kə·p̄a·‘am)Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singularStrong's 6471: A beat, foot, anvil, occurrenceplaceמ֨וֹשָׁב֜וֹ (mō·wō·šā·ḇōw)Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularStrong's 4186: A seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling, dwellersby the wall,הַקִּ֔יר (haq·qîr)Article | Noun - masculine singularStrong's 7023: A walloppositeוַיָּ֙קָם֙ (way·yā·qām)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 6965: To arise, stand up, standJonathanיְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן (yə·hō·w·nā·ṯān)Noun - proper - masculine singularStrong's 3083: Jonathan -- 'the LORD has given', the name of a number of Israelitesandוַיֵּ֥שֶׁב (way·yê·šeḇ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marrybesideמִצַּ֣ד (miṣ·ṣaḏ)Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular constructStrong's 6654: A side, an adversaryAbner,אַבְנֵ֖ר (’aḇ·nêr)Noun - proper - masculine singularStrong's 74: Abner -- 'my father is a lamp', an Israelite namebut David’sדָּוִֽד׃ (dā·wiḏ)Noun - proper - masculine singularStrong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesseplaceמְק֥וֹם (mə·qō·wm)Noun - masculine singular constructStrong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a conditionwas empty.וַיִּפָּקֵ֖ד (way·yip·pā·qêḏ)Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularStrong's 6485: To visit, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, depositJump to PreviousAbner Customary David's Empty Jonathan Opposite Riseth Rose Sat Saul Saul's Seat Seated Side Sitteth Stood Time Times Usual Wall
