John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 1. And Saul spake to Jonathan his son , etc.] Who was heir to his crown; and though he knew he loved David, and was in strict friendship with him, yet he might hope, that as his succession to the kingdom was in danger, as he thought, and that David was his rival in it, his mind would be alienated from him; and that he would listen rather to a father than a friend, and would see where his true interest lay, and abandon David, yea, seek his ruin, which Saul was intent upon and to all his servants ; who yet pretended to love David, and as he himself said they did, and some of them might; with these he might rather hope to succeed, as they were attached to him, and might be secretly enemies of David, and therefore to these, as well as to his son, he spake, and gave his orders: that they should kill David ; as if he was a traitor, and an usurper of his throne, and one that had a design upon that, and upon his life; finding he could do nothing by the schemes, and snares, and stratagems, he used in a private manner, he grew outrageous and furious, and openly declared his views, and laid his injunctions on his son and servants to take away David’s life, as a very dangerous person to his crown and government.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-10 - How forcible are right words! Saul was, for a time, convinced of the unreasonableness of his enmity to David; but he continued his malic against David. So incurable is the hatred of the seed of the serpen against that of the woman; so deceitful and desperately wicked is the heart of man without the grace of God, Jer 17:9.
Original Hebrew וידבר1696 שׁאול7586 אל413 יונתן3129 בנו1121 ואל413 כל3605 עבדיו5650 להמית4191 את853 דוד1732 ויהונתן3129 בן1121 שׁאול7586 חפץ2654 בדוד1732 מאד׃3966
