What Does 1 Samuel 20:21 Mean in the King James?

And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.

1 Samuel 20:21 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The arrow’s landing turns distance into a readable promise: you can return whole.

THE MEANING

The arrow’s direction makes the message clear: come closer when it lands here, because you are safe with me. “Peace” is ⁨שָׁלוֹם⁩ (shalom), meaning wholeness and intactness, and it stands beside the assurance of no hurt. The verse speaks of safety as something that can be communicated clearly, even across distance.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

It undoes the belief that peace is only an inward mood: here, peace is named alongside freedom from injury.

THE ROOT

שָׁלוֹם

shalom

GROWS FROM

שׁלם

š-l-m

To be whole, complete, or intact.

Shalom carries the sense of wholeness beneath “peace.” Paired with the assurance of no hurt, it names David’s safety as an intact condition, not merely a calm feeling.

ALSO GROWS

shalem: Whole, complete, sound.

שָׁלֵם

This branch makes the promise concrete: the one who returns is safe and intact.

shillem: To repay or make restitution.

שִׁלֵּם

The root also carries the idea of making good what is owed or missing, adding a sense of restored completeness to the promise of peace.

אֶשְׁלַח

’eshlaḥ

GROWS FROM

שׁלח

š-l-ḥ

To send out, release, or extend.

“send” in this verse is ’eshlaḥ. Jonathan sends a boy to carry a signal that makes the safe path legible. Shalach holds sending and release together: what goes outward can open a way forward for someone else.

ALSO GROWS

Shiloach: Sent forth; the name of the sent waters of Shiloach or Siloam.

שִׁלֹחַ

This branch shows sending as something carried outward to a person in need; here, the boy carries the signal that guides David.

shulchan: Table, a spread or extended provision.

שֻׁלְחָן

The root also appears in what is extended outward as provision; in this verse, the sent message provides a clear way to safety.

THE PATTERN

Peace is named as wholeness when danger or affliction makes safety uncertain.

And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.

Judges 6:23 · KJVPeace is spoken together with the assurance that Gideon will live.

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8 · KJVPeace is joined to the concrete safety of lying down and dwelling without threat.

And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Luke 8:48 · KJVWholeness and peace meet in a word spoken to someone whose body has been afflicted.

THE THREAD

And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

1 Samuel 20:42 · KJV

The same root ⁨שׁלם⁩ (š-l-m), meaning wholeness, appears in the farewell’s “peace” after the arrow signal tells David whether he can approach. The shared root links the promise of no harm to a blessing over his passage as the two part.

Read the SDV Bible.

Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.

Get Selah Verse

The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.

Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us