The Meaning of 1 Samuel 23:23 Explained

1 Samuel 23:23

KJV: See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.

YLT: And see and know of all the hiding-places where he hideth himself, and ye have turned back unto me prepared, and I have gone with you, and it hath been, if he is in the land, that I have searched him out through all the thousands of Judah.'

Darby: And see, and ascertain all the lurking-places where he hides himself, and come ye again to me with sure information, that I may go with you; and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out throughout the thousands of Judah.

ASV: See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking-places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me of a certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search him out among all the thousands of Judah.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

See  therefore, and take knowledge  of all the lurking places  where he hideth  himself, and come ye again  to me with the certainty,  and I will go  with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be  in the land,  that I will search  him out throughout all the thousands  of Judah. 

What does 1 Samuel 23:23 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 23:23 mean?

Therefore See and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hides in it and come back to me with certainty and I will go with you and it shall be if he is in the land that I will search for him throughout all the clans of Judah
וּרְא֣וּ וּדְע֗וּ מִכֹּ֤ל הַמַּֽחֲבֹאִים֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִתְחַבֵּ֣א שָׁ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֤ם אֵלַי֙ אֶל־ נָכ֔וֹן וְהָלַכְתִּ֖י אִתְּכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה֙ אִם־ יֶשְׁנ֣וֹ בָאָ֔רֶץ וְחִפַּשְׂתִּ֣י אֹת֔וֹ בְּכֹ֖ל אַלְפֵ֥י יְהוּדָֽה

וּרְא֣וּ  Therefore  See 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
וּדְע֗וּ  and  take  knowledge 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
מִכֹּ֤ל  of  all 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַמַּֽחֲבֹאִים֙  the  lurking  places 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַחֲבֵא 
Sense: hiding place.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  where 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
יִתְחַבֵּ֣א  he  hides 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָבָא  
Sense: to withdraw, hide.
שָׁ֔ם  in  it 
Parse: Adverb
Root: שָׁם  
Sense: there, thither.
וְשַׁבְתֶּ֤ם  and  come  back 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
אֵלַי֙  to  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
נָכ֔וֹן  certainty 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.
וְהָלַכְתִּ֖י  and  I  will  go 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
אִתְּכֶ֑ם  with  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
Root: אֵת 
Sense: with, near, together with.
וְהָיָה֙  and  it  shall  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
יֶשְׁנ֣וֹ  he  is 
Parse: Adverb, third person masculine singular
Root: יֵשׁ  
Sense: being, existence, substance, there is or are.
בָאָ֔רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְחִפַּשְׂתִּ֣י  that  I  will  search  for 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: חָפַשׂ  
Sense: to search, search for, to search out, disguise oneself.
בְּכֹ֖ל  throughout  all 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
אַלְפֵ֥י  the  clans 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אֶלֶף 
Sense: a thousand.
יְהוּדָֽה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.