שמואל א כ׳:ה׳-ח׳

הנה חדש מחר. חידוש הלבנה, וכל אוכלי שולחן המלך אין נמנע איש מלבא ביום טוב אל הלחם:

Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon. The renewal of the moon.²From the word חָדָשׁ [=new]. He could not state that tomorrow is Rosh Chodesh, because Rosh Chodesh could only be declared by בֵּית דִין and the actual day of Rosh Chodesh is unknown until it is sanctified by בֵּית דִין. And of all those who eat at the king's table, no one declines from coming to the repast on the festive day.³The New Moon [=Rosh Chodesh] was celebrated as a festive day. See II Melachim 4:23 and Hosheia 2:13.

ואנכי ישוב אשב עם המלך לאכול. לשון הווה הוא, ואנכי רגיל לישב עם המלך תמיד לאכול סמוך לו:

And I usually sit with the king to eat. This is the present tense [meaning] 'and I am accustomed to sit with the king regularly, to eat beside him.'

ושלחתני. מעתה, ונסתרתי עד הערב של יום שלישי, ולא אהיה עם האוכלים, ויפקד מושבי, ויתמה המלך עלי, או מחר או למחרתו:

Let me leave. From now, and I will hide until the evening of the third day, and I will not be with the people eating, and my seat will be empty; the king will wonder about me either tomorrow or the following day.

נשאול נשאל. רשות שאל ממני:

Asked. He asked me for permission.

זבח הימים. משנה לשנה בזמן הזה:

An annual feast-offering. From year to year at this time.⁴It was customary for family members to offer a yearly sacrifice. Elkonoh, too, used to go to Shiloh every year [See above 1:21].

אם כה יאמר טוב. שלא יחרה לו:

If he says thus, 'Good'. I.e., he is not angry.⁵It is a sign that he harbors no evil.

שלום לעבדך. אין בלבו להרגני:

It is well for your servant. He has no intention to kill me.

ואם חרה יחרה. זהו שאהא לו מצוי להרגני:

But if he gets very angry. This is because he wants me to be accessible so that he can kill me.

כלתה הרעה מעמו. סוף דבר מחשבה רעה לו עלי:

He has decided upon evil. The conclusion is, that he has an evil thought concerning me.

ועשית חסד. לשלחני:

Be kind. To let me go.⁶Or by notifying me of what is happening.—Metzudas Dovid.