1 Samuel 20
1 And David went in flight from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and said, What have I done? What is my crime and my sin against your father that he is attempting to take my life?
And David fled from Naioth, in Ramah, —and came in, and said before Jonathan—What have I done? What is my transgression, and what my sin, before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
2 And he said to him, Far be the thought: you will not be put to death: see, my father does nothing, great or small, without giving me word of it: would he keep this secret from me? It is not so.
And he said unto him—Far be it! thou shalt not die. Lo! my father doeth nothing, great or small, without unveiling mine ear, —wherefore, then, should my father hide from me, this thing? There is, nothing, in this.
3 But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death.
But David sware yet further, and said—Thy father, doth know, that I have found favour in thine eyes, therefore saith he, —Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he grieve; but, indeed, by the life of Yahweh, and by the life of thine own soul, surely there is but as it were a step betwixt me and death!
4 Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your desire is, I will do it for you.
And Jonathan said unto David, —Whatsoever thy soul shall desire, I will do for thee.
5 And David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I will not be seated with the king at his table: but let me go to a safe place in the country till the evening.
And David said unto Jonathan—Lo! the new moon, is to-morrow, and, I, must not sit with the king, to eat, —let me go then, and hide myself in the field, until the evening.
6 And if your father takes note of the fact that I am away, say, David made a request to me for himself that he might go to Beth-lehem, to his town: for it is the time when his family make their offering year by year.
If thy father, enquire, for me, then shalt thou say—David, did ask leave, of me, to run to Bethlehem, his own city, for, a yearly sacrifice, [is to be held] there for all the family.
7 If he says, It is well, your servant will be at peace: but if he is angry, then it will be clear to you that he has an evil purpose in mind against me.
If, thus, he say—It is well, —thy servant shall have, peace, —but, if it, anger, him, know that harm hath been determined by him.
8 So, then, be kind to your servant; for you have been united with your servant in an agreement made before the Lord: but if there is any wrongdoing in me, put me to death yourself; why take me to your father?
Thus shalt thou do a lovingkindness for thy servant, for, into a covenant of Yahweh, hast thou brought thy servant, with thee, —But, if there is in me transgression, put me to death, thyself, for, unto thy father, wherefore shouldst thou bring me in?
9 And Jonathan said, Do not have such a thought: for if I saw that my father was designing evil against you, would I not give you word of it?
And Jonathan said—Far be it from thee! but, if I, get to know, that harm is determined by my father, to bring it upon thee, is not, that, the thing that I will tell thee?
10 Then David said to Jonathan, Who will give me word if your father gives you a rough answer?
Then said David unto Jonathan, Who shall tell me, —if thy father answer thee aught that is, harsh?
11 And Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the country. And the two of them went out together into the open country.
And Jonathan said unto David, Come! and let us go out into the field. And they two went out into the field.
12 And Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have had a chance of talking to my father, about this time tomorrow, if his feelings to David are good, will I not send and give you the news?
Then said Jonathan unto David—Witness [be] Yahweh God of Israel, that I will sound my father about this time to-morrow or the third day, and lo! if there he good towards David, will I not, then, send unto thee, and unveil thine ear?
13 May the Lord's punishment be on Jonathan, if it is my father's pleasure to do you evil and I do not give you word of it and send you away so that you may go in peace: and may the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
So, let Yahweh do unto Jonathan, and, so, let him add—when harm against thee seemeth good unto my father, then will I unveil thine ear, and let thee go, and thou shall depart in peace, —then Yahweh be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
14 And may you, while I am still living, O may you be kind to me, as the Lord is kind, and keep me from death!
And, not only while I yet live, shalt thou deal with me in the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I die not:
15 And let not your mercy ever be cut off from my family, even when the Lord has sent destruction on all David's haters, cutting them off from the face of the earth.
but thou shalt not cut off thy lovingkindness from my house, unto times age-abiding, —no! not when Yahweh hath cut off the enemies of David, every one from off the face of the ground.
16 And if it comes about that the name of Jonathan is cut off from the family of David, the Lord will make David responsible.
Thus Jonathan solemnised a covenant with the house of David [saying], —So let Yahweh require it, at the hand of the enemies of David.
17 And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul.
And again Jonathan sware unto David, by his love to him, —for, as he loved his own soul, so loved he him.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon: and it will be seen that you are not present, for there will be no one in your seat.
Then said Jonathan unto him—To-morrow, is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty;
19 And on the third day it will be specially noted, and you will go to the place where you took cover when the other business was in hand, waiting by the hill over there.
and, when thou hast tarried three days, thou shalt come down quickly and enter the place, where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the deed, and shall remain by the side of this mound.
20 And on the third day I will send arrows from my bow against its side as if at a mark.
And, as for me—three arrows to the side, will I shoot, —as though I shot at a mark.
21 And I will send my boy to have a look for the arrow. And if I say to him, See, the arrow is on this side of you; take it up! then you may come; for there is peace for you and no evil, by the living Lord.
And lo! I will send the boy [saying], Go, find the arrow! If I, say, to the boy—Lo! the arrows, are on this side of thee—take them, then come, for there is peace for thee, and no cause [for fear], by the life of Yahweh.
22 But if I say to the boy, See, the arrow has gone past you: then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away.
But, if, thus, I say to the youth, Lo! the arrows are beyond thee, depart, for Yahweh hath sent thee away.
23 As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever.
But, as touching the matter whereof we spake—I and thou, lo! Yahweh, be betwixt me and thee, unto times age-abiding.
24 So David went to a secret place in the country: and when the new moon came, the king took his place at the feast.
So David hid himself in the field—and, when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat, food,
25 And the king took his seat, as at other times, by the wall: and Jonathan was in front, and Abner was seated by Saul's side, but there was no one in David's seat.
yea the king sat down on his seat, as at other times, by the seat against the wall, and, when Jonathan arose, Abner seated himself by the side of Saul, —but David’s place was empty.
26 But Saul said nothing that day, for his thought was, Something has taken place making him unclean; it is clear that he is not clean.
Saul, however, spake nothing that day, —for he said to himself—It is, an accident, he is, not clean, because he hath not been cleansed.
27 And on the day after the new moon, that is, the second day, there was still no one in David's seat: and Saul said to his son Jonathan, Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast yesterday or today?
And it came to pass, on the morrow, the second of the month, that David’s place was empty, —and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore hath not the son of Jesse come in, either yesterday or to-day, to meat?
28 And answering Saul, Jonathan said, He made a request to me that he might go to Beth-lehem,
And Jonathan answered Saul, —David, asked leave, of me, [to go] as far as Bethlehem;
29 Saying, Our family is making an offering in the town, and my brothers have given me orders to be there: so now, if I have grace in your eyes, let me go away and see my brothers. This is why he has not come to the king's table.
and said—Let me go, I pray thee, for, a family sacrifice, have we in the city, and my brethren have commanded me, now, therefore, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me slip away, I pray thee, that I may see my brethren. For this cause, hath he not come in unto the table of the king.
30 Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother?
Then was Saul’s anger kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of rebellious perversity! do I not know that thou art, confederate, with the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and to the confusion of the shame of thy mother?
31 For while the son of Jesse is living on the earth, your position is unsafe and your kingdom is in danger. So make him come here to me, for it is certainly right for him to be put to death.
For, as long as, the son of Jesse, liveth on the ground, thou wilt not be established, thou nor thy kingdom, Now, therefore, send and fetch him unto me, for, doomed to death, is he!
32 And Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said to him, Why is he to be put to death? What has he done?
And Jonathan responded to Saul his father, —and said unto him—Wherefore must he be put to death, What hath he done?
33 And Saul, pointing his spear at him, made an attempt to give him a wound: from which it was clear to Jonathan that his father's purpose was to put David to death.
And Saul hurled his spear at him, to smite him. So Jonathan knew that it was, determined, of his father, to put David to death.
34 So Jonathan got up from the table, burning with wrath, and took no part in the feast the second day of the month, being full of grief for David because his father had put shame on him.
Jonathan therefore rose up from the table, in a glow of anger, —and did eat no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had reviled him.
35 Now in the morning, Jonathan went out into the fields at the time he had said to David, and he had a little boy with him.
And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went forth into the field, to the place appointed with David, —a little lad, being with him.
36 And he said to the boy, Go and get the arrow I let loose from my bow. And while the boy was running, he sent an arrow past him.
And he said to his lad—Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am about to shoot. The boy, ran, but, he, shot the arrow beyond him.
37 And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan, crying out after the boy, said, Has it not gone past you?
And, when the lad came as far as the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow, beyond, thee?
38 And Jonathan went on crying out after the boy, Be quick, do not keep waiting about, go quickly. And Jonathan's boy got the arrow and came back to his master.
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Haste thee—be quick, do not stay! so Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrows and brought [them] unto his master.
39 But the boy had no idea what was going on; only Jonathan and David had knowledge of it.
But, the lad, knew, nothing, only Jonathan and David, knew the matter.
40 And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy, and said to him, Take these and go back to the town.
So Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said to him, Go carry them into the city.
41 And when the boy had gone, David came from his secret place by the hill, and falling to the earth went down on his face three times: and they gave one another a kiss, weeping together, till David's grief was the greater.
As soon as, the lad, was gone, David, arose from beside the South, and fell on his face to the earth, and bowed himself down three times, —and they kissed each other, and wept over each other, until, David, exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we two have taken an oath, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. Then David went away, and Jonathan went into the town.
Then said Jonathan unto David—Go in peace, —[remembering] that, we, have both sworn in the name of Yahweh, saying, Yahweh shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, unto times age-abiding. And he arose, and departed, —and, Jonathan, entered the city.
