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?
Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks to take 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.
Jonathan said to David, “Far from it; you will not die. My father does nothing either great or small without telling it to me. Why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.”
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.
Yet David vowed again and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes. He has said, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.' But as truly as Yahweh lives, and as you live, there is but a step between me and death.”
4 Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your desire is, I will do it for you.
Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
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.
David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, so that I may hide myself in the field until the third day at 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 your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; because it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.'
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 he says, 'It is well,' your servant will have peace. But if he is very angry, then know that he has decided on evil.
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?
Therefore deal kindly with your servant. For you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is sin in me, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”
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?
Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I learned my father decided harm to come upon you, would I not tell you?”
10 Then David said to Jonathan, Who will give me word if your father gives you a rough answer?
Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if by chance your father should answer you roughly?”
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.
Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both 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?
Jonathan said to David, “May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness. When I have questioned my father around this time tomorrow, or the third day, see, if there is good will toward David, will I not then send to you and make it known to you?
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.
If it pleases my father to do you harm, may Yahweh do to Jonathan and more also if I do not make it known to you and send you away, so that you may go in peace. May Yahweh be with you, as he has 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!
If I am still alive, will you not show me the covenant faithfulness of Yahweh, that I may not die?
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.
Do not cut off your covenant faithfulness from my house forever—not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
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.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David and said, “May Yahweh require an accounting from 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.
Jonathan made David vow again because of the love that he had for him, because he loved him as he loved his own soul.
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 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed because your 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.
When you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself when the business was in hand, and stay by the stone Ezel.
20 And on the third day I will send arrows from my bow against its side as if at a mark.
I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target.
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.
Then I will send my young man and say to him, 'Go find the arrows.' If I say to the young boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,” then come; for there will be safety for you and not harm, as Yahweh lives.
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 I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go your way, for Yahweh has sent you away.
23 As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever.
As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, see, Yahweh is between you and me forever.'”
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. When the new moon came, 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.
The king sat on his seat, as usual, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side. 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.
Yet Saul did not say anything that day, because he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.”
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?
But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
28 And answering Saul, Jonathan said, He made a request to me that he might go to Beth-lehem,
Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission from me to go to 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.
He said, 'Please let me go. For our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has ordered me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”
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 Saul's anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
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 lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now then, send and bring him to me, for he must surely die.”
32 And Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said to him, Why is he to be put to death? What has he done?
Jonathan answered Saul his father, “For what reason should he be put to death? What has 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.
Then Saul threw his spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined 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 got up from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved over David, because his father had dishonored 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.
In the morning, Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and a young man was 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.
He said to his young man, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the young man ran, he shot an 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?
When the young man came to the place where the arrow that Jonathan shot had landed, Jonathan called after the young man, and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
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.
Then Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” So Jonathan's young man gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
39 But the boy had no idea what was going on; only Jonathan and David had knowledge of it.
But the young man did not know anything. 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.
Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, “Go, take them to 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 young man was gone, David stood up from behind the mound, lay facedown on the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, with David weeping the more.
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.
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the name of Yahweh and said, 'May Yahweh be between you and me, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.'” Then David stood up and left, and Jonathan returned to the city.
