1 Samuel 20
1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”
And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life?
2 “Far from it!” Jonathan replied. “You will not die. Indeed, my father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. So why would he hide this matter from me? This cannot be true!”
And he said to him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, and not apprise me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
3 But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”
And David swore again and again, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found favour in thy sight: and he has thought, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he be grieved; but truly [as] Jehovah liveth, and [as] thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you desire, I will do for you.”
And Jonathan said to David, What thy soul may say, I will even do it for thee.
5 So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.
6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David urgently requested my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there is an annual sacrifice for his whole clan.’
If thy father should actually miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.
If he say thus, It is well, — thy servant shall have peace; but if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by him.
8 Therefore deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?”
Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
9 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for, if I knew with certainty that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee?
10 Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
11 “Come,” he replied, “let us go out to the field.” So the two of them went out into the field,
And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
12 and Jonathan said, “By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?
And Jonathan said to David, Jehovah, God of Israel, when I sound my father about this time to-morrow, [or] the next day, and behold, there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and apprise thee of it,
13 But if my father intends to bring evil on you, then may the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if I do not tell you and send you on your way in safety. May the LORD be with you, just as He has been with my father.
Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan. Should it please my father [to do] thee evil, then I will apprise thee of it, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and Jehovah be with thee, as he has been with my father.
14 And as long as I live, treat me with the LORD’s loving devotion, that I may not die,
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of Jehovah, that I die not,
15 and do not ever cut off your loving devotion from my household—not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
but thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever, no, not when Jehovah cuts off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth.
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD hold David’s enemies accountable.”
And Jonathan made [a covenant] with the house of David, [saying, ] Let Jehovah even require [it] at the hand of David's enemies!
17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his vow out of love for him, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, by the love he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed if your seat is empty.
And Jonathan said to him, To-morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty;
19 When you have stayed three days, hurry down to the place you hid on the day this trouble began, and remain beside the stone Ezel.
but on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the business, and abide by the stone Ezel.
20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were aiming at a target.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them,’ then come, because as surely as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.
And behold, I will send the lad, [saying, ] Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come, for there is peace for thee, and it is nothing; [as] Jehovah liveth.
22 But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, for the LORD has sent you away.
But if I say thus to the youth: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, — go thy way; for Jehovah sends thee away.
23 And as for the matter you and I have discussed, the LORD is a witness between you and me forever.”
And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between me and thee for ever.
24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat.
And David hid himself in the field; and it was the new moon, and the king sat at table to eat.
25 He sat in his usual place by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, but David’s place was empty.
And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26 Saul said nothing that day because he thought, “Something has happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.”
And Saul said nothing that day; for he thought, Something has befallen [him], that he is not clean: surely he is not clean.
27 But on the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
And it came to pass the next day after the new moon, the second [day of the month], as David's place was empty, that Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jesse come to table, neither yesterday nor to-day?
28 Jonathan answered, “David urgently requested my permission to go to Bethlehem,
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me [to go] to Bethlehem,
29 saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why he did not come to the king’s table.”
and said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family sacrifice in the city; and my brother himself has commanded me [to be there]; and now, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. He has therefore not come to the king's table.
30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the disgrace of the mother who bore you?
And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingship shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”
For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die.
32 “Why must he be put to death?” Jonathan replied. “What has he done?”
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be put to death? what has he done?
33 Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him; so Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.
Then Saul cast the spear at him to smite him; and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death.
34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the month, for he was grieved by his father’s shameful treatment of David.
And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no meat the second day of the new moon; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a small boy was with him.
And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, to the place agreed on with David, and a little lad with him.
36 He said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” And as the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.
And he said to his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot the arrow beyond him.
37 When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called to him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?”
And when the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad and said, Is not the arrow away beyond thee?
38 Then Jonathan cried out, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not delay!” So the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not! And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 But the boy did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.
And the lad knew nothing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the boy and said, “Go, take it back to the city.”
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city.
41 When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.
The lad went, and David arose from the side of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have both of us sworn in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah 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.
