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 fleeth from Naioth in Ramah, and cometh, and saith before Jonathan, 'What have I done? what [is] mine iniquity? and what my sin before thy father, that he is seeking 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 saith to him, 'Far be it! thou dost not die; lo, my father doth not do anything great or small and doth not uncover mine ear; and wherefore doth my father hide from me this thing? this [thing] is not.'
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 sweareth again, and saith, 'Thy father hath certainly known that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved; and yet, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, but — as a step between me and death.'
4 And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.
And Jonathan saith to David, 'What doth thy soul say? — and I do it for thee.'
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 saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon [is] to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening;
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 thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days [is] 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 thus he say: Good; peace [is] for thy servant; and if it be very displeasing to him — know that the evil hath been 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.
and thou hast done kindness, to thy servant, for into a covenant of Jehovah thou hast brought thy servant with thee; — and if there is in me iniquity, put thou me to death; and unto thy father, why is this — thou dost bring me in?'
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 saith, 'Far be it from thee! for I certainly do not know that the evil hath been determined by my father to come upon thee, and I do not declare it to thee.'
10 And David answered Jonathan: Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly concerning me?
And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Who doth declare to me? or what [if] thy father doth answer thee sharply?'
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 saith unto David, 'Come, and we go out into the field;' and they go 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 saith unto David, 'Jehovah, God of Israel — when I search my father, about [this] time to-morrow [or] the third [day], and lo, good [is] towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear —
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.
thus doth Jehovah do to Jonathan, and thus doth He add; when the evil concerning thee is good to my father, then I have uncovered thine ear, and sent thee away, and thou hast gone in peace, and Jehovah is with thee, as he was with my father;
14 And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die,
and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and 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 thou dost not cut off thy kindness from my house unto the age, nor in Jehovah's cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.'
16 Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies.
And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David;
17 And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him: for he loved him as his own soul.
and Jonathan addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.
18 And Jonathan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed:
And Jonathan saith to him, 'To-morrow [is] new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;
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 on the third day thou dost certainly come down, and hast come in unto the place where thou wast hidden in the day of the work, and hast remained near 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 shoot three of the arrows at the side, sending out for myself at a mark;
21 And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go and fetch me the arrows.
and lo, I send the youth: Go, find the arrows. If I at all say to the youth, Lo, the arrows [are] on this side of thee — take them, — then come thou, for peace [is] for thee, and there is nothing; Jehovah liveth.
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.
And if thus I say to the young man, Lo, the arrows [are] beyond thee, — go, for Jehovah hath sent thee away;
23 And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me for ever.
as to the thing which we have spoken, I and thou, lo, Jehovah [is] between me and thee — unto the age.'
24 So David was hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat,
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 sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after.
26 And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought it might have happened to him, that he was not clean, nor purified.
And Saul hath not spoken anything on that day, for he said, 'It [is] an accident; he is not clean — surely 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 cometh to pass on the second morrow of the new moon, that David's place is looked after, and Saul saith unto Jonathan his son, 'Wherefore hath the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or to-day, unto the food?'
28 And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem,
And Jonathan answereth Saul, 'David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem,
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 saith, Send me away, I pray thee, for a family sacrifice we have in the city, and my brother himself hath given command to me, and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren; therefore he hath not come unto the table of the king.'
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?
And the anger of Saul burneth against Jonathan, and he saith to him, 'Son of a perverse rebellious woman! have I not known that thou art fixing on the son of Jesse to thy shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of thy mother?
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 all the days that the son of Jesse liveth on the ground thou art not established, thou and thy kingdom; and now, send and bring him unto me, for he [is] a son of death.'
32 And Jonathan answering Saul his father, said: Why shall he die: what hath he done?
And Jonathan answereth Saul his father, and saith unto him, 'Why is he put to death? what hath 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 casteth the javelin at him to smite him, and Jonathan knoweth that it hath been determined by his father to put David to death.
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.
And Jonathan riseth from the table in the heat of anger, and hath not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he hath been grieved for David, for his father put him to 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 cometh to pass in the morning, that Jonathan goeth out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little youth [is] 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 saith to his youth, 'Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am shooting;' the youth is running, and he hath shot the arrow, causing [it] to pass over 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 the youth cometh unto the place of the arrow which Jonathan hath shot, and Jonathan calleth after the youth, and saith, 'Is not the arrow beyond thee?'
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 calleth after the youth, 'Speed, haste, stand not;' and Jonathan's youth gathereth the arrows, and cometh unto his lord.
39 And he knew not at all what was doing: for only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And the youth hath not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.
40 Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him: Go, and carry them into the city.
And Jonathan giveth his weapons unto the youth whom he hath, and saith to him, 'Go, carry into 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.
The youth hath gone, and David hath risen from Ezel, at the south, and falleth on his face to the earth, and boweth himself three times, and they kiss one another, and they weep one with another, till David exerted himself;
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 saith to David, 'Go in peace, in that we have sworn — we two — in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah is between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed — unto the age;' and he riseth and goeth; and Jonathan hath gone in to the city.
