1 Samuel 20
1 But David fled from Najoth, which is in Ramatha, and came and said to Jonathan: What have I done? what is my iniquity, and what is my sin against thy father, that he seeketh my life?
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?
2 And he said to him: God forbid, thou shalt not die: for my father will do nothing great or little, without first telling me: hath then my father hid this word only from me? no, this shall not be.
And he said unto him, God forbid; you shall not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
3 And he swore again to David. And David said: Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, and he will say: Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there is but one step (as I may say) between me and death.
And David swore moreover, and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found grace in your eyes; and he says, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
4 And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.
Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever your soul desires, I will even do it for you.
5 And David said to Jonathan: Behold tomorrow is the new moon, and I according to custom am wont to sit beside the king to eat: let me go then that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day.
And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at food: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
6 If thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him: David asked me that he might run to Bethlehem his own city: because there are solemn sacrifices there for all his tribe.
If your father at all 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 shall say, It is well: thy servant shall have peace: but if he be angry, know that his malice is come to its height.
If he say thus, It is well; your servant shall have peace: but if he be very angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
8 Deal mercifully then with thy servant: for thou hast brought me thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee. But if there be any iniquity in me, do thou kill me, and bring me not in to thy father.
Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant; for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father?
9 And Jonathan said: Far be this from thee: for if I should certainly know that evil is determined by my father against thee, I could do no otherwise than tell thee.
And Jonathan said, Far be it from you: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon you, then would not I tell it you?
10 And David answered Jonathan: Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly concerning me?
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if your father answer you roughly?
11 And Jonathan said to David: Come and let us go out into the field. And when they were both of them gone out into the field,
And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
12 Jonathan said to David: O Lord God of Israel, if I shall discover my father’s mind, tomorrow or the day after, and there be any thing good for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and make it known to thee,
And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto you, and show it you;
13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do you evil, then I will show it you, and send you away, that you may go in peace: and the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father.
14 And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die,
And you shall not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:
15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.
But also you shall not cut off your kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD has cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
16 Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
17 And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him: for he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 And Jonathan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed:
Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon: and you shall be missed, because your seat will be empty.
19 For thy seat will be empty till after tomorrow. So thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place, where thou must be hid on the day when it is lawful to work, and thou shalt remain beside the stone, which is called Ezel.
And when you have stayed three days, then you shall go down quickly, and come to the place where you did hide yourself when the business was in hand, and shall remain by the stone Ezel.
20 And I will shoot three arrows near it, and will shoot as if I were exercising myself at a mark.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
21 And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go and fetch me the arrows.
And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, take them; then come you: for there is peace to you, and no hurt; as the LORD lives.
22 If I shall say to the boy: Behold the arrows are on this side of thee, take them up: come thou to me, because, there is peace to thee, and there is no evil, as the Lord liveth. But if I shall speak thus to the boy: Behold the arrows are beyond thee: go in peace, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond you; go your way: for the LORD has sent you away.
23 And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me for ever.
And as concerning the matter which you and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between you and me for ever.
24 So David was hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food.
25 And when the king sat down upon his chair (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place appeared empty.
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26 And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought it might have happened to him, that he was not clean, nor purified.
Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day: for he thought, Something has befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
27 And when the second day after the new moon was come, David’s place appeared empty again. And Saul said to Jonathan his son: Why cometh not the son of Isai to meat neither yesterday nor today?
And it came to pass on the next day, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore comes not the son of Jesse to food, neither yesterday, nor to day?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem,
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:
29 And he said: Let me go, for there is a solemn sacrifice in the city, one of my brethren hath sent for me: and now if I have found favour in thy eyes, I will go quickly, and see my brethren. For this cause he came not to the king’s table.
And he said, Let me go, I pray you; for our family has a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he has commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brethren. Therefore he comes not unto the king's table.
30 Then Saul being angry against Jonathan said to him: Thou son of a woman that is the ravisher of a man, do I not know that thou lovest the son of Isai to thy own confusion and to the confusion of thy shameless mother?
Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, You son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own confusion, and unto the confusion of your mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Isai liveth upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now presently send, and fetch him to me: for he is the son of death.
For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the ground, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answering Saul his father, said: Why shall he die: what hath he done?
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what has he done?
33 And Saul caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David.
And Saul cast a javelin at him to strike him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
34 So Jonathan rose from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was grieved for David, because his father had put him to confusion.
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
35 And when the morning came, Jonathan went into the field, according to the appointment with David, and a little boy with him.
And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
36 And he said to his boy: Go, and fetch me the arrows which I shoot. And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond the boy.
And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37 The boy therefore came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot: and Jonathan cried after the boy, and said: Behold the arrow is there further beyond thee.
And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond you?
38 And Jonathan cried again after the boy, saying: Make haste speedily, stand not. And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows, and brought them 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 And he knew not at all what was doing: for only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him: Go, and carry them into the city.
And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
41 And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was towards the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice: and kissing one another, they wept together, but David more.
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward 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: and let all stand that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying: The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And David arose, and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
