If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.

If they shall speak thus to us: Stay till we come to you: let us stand still in our place, and not go up to them.

If they say thus to us, Stand still until we come to you, then we will stay in our place, and will not go up to them.

if thus they say unto us, 'Stand still till we have come unto you,' then we have stood in our place, and do not go up unto them;

If they say to us, Keep quiet where you are till we come to you; then we will keep our places and not go up to them.

if they have spoken to us in this way, 'Stay until we come to you,' let us stand still in our place, and not ascend to them.

If they say thus unto us - Jonathan had no doubt asked this as a sign from God; exactly as Eliezer the servant of Abraham did, Genesis 24:12.

(d) If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
(d) This he spoke by the spirit of prophecy, and by this God gave him assurance of victory.

If they say thus unto us,.... By this and what follows he gives his man a sign by which both might know how they should conduct themselves in this expedition, and what would be the issue, whether they should succeed or not: should they say,
tarry until we come to you; this, as it would express boldness in the men of the garrison, and show that they were ready to come out and fight, would portend evil, and then what they had to do was to be upon the defensive:
then we will stand still in our place; wait till they came to them, and make the best defence of themselves as they could, showing as little fear as possible, and not attempting to retreat and flee:
and will not go up unto them; neither go backwards nor forwards; not backward, which would show fear; nor forward, to expose themselves to too much danger from the garrison, they appearing to be bold and intrepid.

if they say, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand--When Jonathan appears here to prescribe a sign or token of God's will, we may infer that the same spirit which inspired this enterprise suggested the means of its execution, and put into his heart what to ask of God. (See on Genesis 24:12).