What Does 1 Samuel 14:7 Mean in the King James?
And his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The armour-bearer’s deepest act of support is placing his own presence in step with Jonathan’s heart.
THE MEANING
A companion can stand with you in the direction your heart already holds. Their presence meets your choice and moves alongside it without taking it over.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that you must choose between following your own heart and being accompanied.
THE ROOT
לֵבָב
lebab
GROWS FROM
ל־ב־ב
L-B-B
The inner center: thought, will, and desire.
The verse names Jonathan’s heart first as the source of his direction, then as the measure of his companion’s presence. The repeated word holds intention and inward resolve together.
ALSO GROWS
lev: Heart; the inner center of thought and will.
לֵב
This shorter form shares the same heart-language and shows that the verse speaks of more than emotion.
levavi: My heart; my inner intention.
לְבָבִי
The possessive form makes the personal nature of the phrase clear: the companion joins Jonathan’s direction, rather than substituting his own.
נְטֵה
nəṭēh
GROWS FROM
נ־ט־ה
N-T-H
To stretch out, incline, or turn aside.
“turn thee” in this verse is nəṭēh. The word translated “turn” carries the sense of inclining or extending toward a direction. Beside “I am with thee according to thy heart,” it lets the companion’s support sound like an extension of Jonathan’s movement.
ALSO GROWS
natah: To stretch out, incline, or pitch.
נָטָה
Its range keeps the sense of turning connected to extending oneself toward a course.
matteh: A staff or rod; something extended, also used for a tribe.
מַטֶּה
This related form carries the image of extension into a tangible object, echoing the verse’s language of turning toward a chosen direction.
נֹשֵׂא
nōśēʾ
GROWS FROM
נ־שׂ־א
N-S-ʾ
To lift, carry, or bear.
“armourbearer” in this verse is nōśēʾ. The armour-bearer is literally a carrier. His “I am with thee” extends that carrying role from equipment to companionship: he carries his presence into Jonathan’s chosen course.
ALSO GROWS
maśśāʾ: A burden or load.
מַשָּׂא
This noun from the same root makes the act of carrying visible as bearing a weight.
nāśîʾ: A leader or prince; one raised up.
נָשִׂיא
The related word carries the sense of being lifted, showing how the root’s physical image can extend into a person’s standing.
THE PATTERN
Presence can join the direction of another’s heart, making resolve shared without erasing its source.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:Can two walk together, except they be agreed?Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.THE THREAD
Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.Psalm 20:4 repeats the phrase “according to thine own heart,” using the same Hebrew heart-word found in 1 Samuel 14:7. Here, a companion’s presence meets Jonathan’s heart; in the Psalm, the heart’s counsel is given room to unfold.
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