1 Samuel 19
1 Then Saul instructed his son Jonathan and all his officials to kill David. But Jonathan really liked David,
And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
2 so he warned him, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning—find a place to hide and stay hidden.
But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now, therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret [place], and hide thyself:
3 I'll go out with my father and stand in the field near to where you are hiding. I'll talk to him about you and see what I can find out, then I'll let you know.”
And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou [art], and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4 Then Jonathan spoke positively about David to his father Saul, and told him, “The king should not do anything bad to his servant David because he's not done anything bad to you—he has always served you well.
And Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works [have been] toward thee very good:
5 He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about great salvation for the whole of Israel. You saw it and you were delighted, so why would you sin and spill innocent blood by killing David without having any reason?”
For he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest [it], and didst rejoice: Why then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
6 Saul accepted what Jonathan had to say, and promised with an oath: “I swear on the life of the Lord, he won't be put to death.”
And Saul hearkened to the voice of Jonathan: and Saul swore, [As] the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 Later Jonathan called David and told him all that had been said. Then he took him to Saul, and David worked for Saul as he had before.
And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
8 War broke out once again, and David went to fight the Philistines. He attacked them so forcefully that they ran away in defeat.
And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 A while later an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. As David played the lyre,
And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with [his] hand.
10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. David managed to dodge the spear which embedded itself in the wall. Then David escaped and ran away into the night.
And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away from Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
11 Saul sent some messengers to David's house to keep watch and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed.”
Saul also sent messengers to David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David's wife, told him, saying, If thou dost not save thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain.
12 Michal lowered David down from a window, and he ran off, managing to escape.
So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
13 Then she took a home idol and laid it in the bed, put a goat hair wig on its head, and covered it with bedclothes.
And Michal took an image, and laid [it] in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's [hair] for his bolster, and covered [it] with a cloth.
14 When Saul sent the messengers to arrest David, Michal told them, “He's sick.”
And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He [is] sick.
15 Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him to me in the bed so I can kill him.”
And Saul sent the messengers [again] to see David, saying, Bring him to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 But when the messengers went into the bedroom, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair wig on its head.
And when the messengers had come in, behold, [there was] an image in the bed, with a pillow of goat's [hair] for his bolster.
17 “Why did you trick me like this—helping my enemy get away so he could escape?” Saul asked Michal. “He told me, ‘Get out of my way! I don't want to have to kill you!’” Michal replied.
And Saul said to Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away my enemy, that he has escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said to me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
18 This is how David got away and escaped. He went to Samuel at Ramah and explained to him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in Naioth.
So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19 When Saul got to hear that David was at Naioth in Ramah,
And it was told to Saul, saying, Behold, David [is] at Naioth in Ramah.
20 he sent messengers to arrest him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading out, the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers and they started prophesying too.
And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing [as] appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 Saul was told what had happened, so he sent more messengers, and they started prophesying as well.
And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 For the third time Saul sent messengers, and they also started prophesying.
Then he went also to Ramah, and came to a great well that [is] in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where [are] Samuel and David? And [one] said, Behold, [they are] at Naioth in Ramah.
23 In the end Saul went himself to Ramah and arrived at the large cistern at Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he asked. “At Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him. So Saul went on to Naioth at Ramah, but the Spirit of God even came on him, and he was prophesying as he walked along until he arrived in Naioth.
And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 Then Saul also took off his clothes and he too prophesied in Samuel's presence. Then he fell down and lay there naked all that day and all that night. That's why it is said, “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”
And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, [Is] Saul also among the prophets?
