Then Saul said to David, blessed [be] thou, my son David,.... He desired God to bless him, and pronounced him blessed himself, believing he would be a happy and prosperous man:
thou shall both do great [things]; he had done great things already, in slaying Goliath, obtaining victories over the Philistines, and escaping the hands of Saul, and keeping out of them with so small a force; and he should do greater things yet:
and also shalt still prevail; against Saul and all his enemies; the Targum is,
"even in reigning thou shalt reign, and even in prospering thou shalt prosper;''
he believed he would be king, so he had said before, 1 Samuel 24:20;
so David went on his way: to the wilderness again very probably, putting no trust and confidence in Saul, knowing how fickle and unstable he was:
and Saul returned to his place; to Gibeah, where his palace was.