1 Samuel 20
1 David ran from Naioth in Ramah to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done? What is my wrong have I done? What terrible thing have I done to your father that he wants to kill me?”
大衛從拉瑪的拿約逃跑，來到約拿單那裏，對他說：「我做了甚麼？有甚麼罪孽呢？在你父親面前犯了甚麼罪，他竟尋索我的性命呢？」
2 “Nothing!” Jonathan replied. “You're not going to die! Listen! My father tells me everything he's planning, whatever it is. Why would my father keep something like this from me? It's not true!”
約拿單回答說：「斷然不是！你必不致死。我父做事，無論大小，沒有不叫我知道的。怎麼獨有這事隱瞞我呢？決不如此。」
3 But David swore an oath again, saying, “Your father knows very well that I'm your friend, and so he's told himself, ‘Jonathan can't find out about this, otherwise he'll be really upset.’ I swear on the life of the Lord, and on your own life, my life is hanging by a thread.”
大衛又起誓說：「你父親準知我在你眼前蒙恩。他心裏說，不如不叫約拿單知道，恐怕他愁煩。我指着永生的耶和華，又敢在你面前起誓，我離死不過一步。」
4 “Tell me what you want me to do for you and I'll do it,” Jonathan told David.
約拿單對大衛說：「你心裏所求的，我必為你成就。」
5 “Well, the New Moon festival is tomorrow, and I'm meant to sit down and eat with the king. But if it's alright with you, I plan to go and hide in the field until the evening three days from now.
大衛對約拿單說：「明日是初一，我當與王同席，求你容我去藏在田野，直到第三日晚上。
6 If your father does indeed miss me, tell him, ‘David had to urgently ask my permission to hurry down to Bethlehem, his hometown, because of a yearly sacrifice there for his whole family group.’
你父親若見我不在席上，你就說：『大衛切求我許他回本城伯利恆去，因為他全家在那裏獻年祭。』
7 If he says, ‘That's fine,’ then there's no problem for me, your servant, but if he gets mad, you'll know he intends to do me harm.
你父親若說好，僕人就平安了；他若發怒，你就知道他決意要害我。
8 So please treat me well, as you promised when you made a agreement with me before the Lord. If I've done wrong, then kill me yourself! Why take me to your father for him to do it?”
求你施恩與僕人，因你在耶和華面前曾與僕人結盟。我若有罪，不如你自己殺我，何必將我交給你父親呢？」
9 “Absolutely not!” Jonathan replied. “If I knew for certain that if my father had plans to harm you, don't you think I'd tell you?”
約拿單說：「斷無此事！我若知道我父親決意害你，我豈不告訴你呢？」
10 “So who's going to let me know if your father gives you a nasty answer?” David asked.
大衛對約拿單說：「你父親若用厲言回答你，誰來告訴我呢？」
11 “Come on, let's go out into the countryside,” Jonathan said. So they both of them went out into the countryside.
約拿單對大衛說：「你我且往田野去。」二人就往田野去了。
12 Jonathan said to David, “I promise by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will question my father by this time tomorrow or the day after. If things look good for you, I'll send a message to you and let you know.
約拿單對大衛說：「願耶和華－以色列的上帝為證。明日約在這時候，或第三日，我探我父親的意思，若向你有好意，我豈不打發人告訴你嗎？
13 But if my father plans to do you harm, then may the Lord punish me very severely, if I don't let you know by sending you a message so you can get away safely. May the Lord be with you, just as he was with my father.
我父親若有意害你，我不告訴你使你平平安安地走，願耶和華重重地降罰與我。願耶和華與你同在，如同從前與我父親同在一樣。
14 While I live, please show me trustworthy love like that of the Lord so I don't die,
你要照耶和華的慈愛恩待我，不但我活着的時候免我死亡，
15 and please don't ever remove your trustworthy love for my family, even when the Lord has removed every one of your enemies from the earth.”
就是我死後，耶和華從地上剪除你仇敵的時候，你也永不可向我家絕了恩惠。」
16 Jonathan made a solemn agreement with the family of David, saying, “May the Lord impose retribution on David's enemies.”
於是約拿單與大衛家結盟，說：「願耶和華藉大衛的仇敵追討背約的罪。」
17 Jonathan made David swear this once more by making an oath based on David's love for him, for Jonathan already loved David as he loved himself.
約拿單因愛大衛如同愛自己的性命，就使他再起誓。
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “The New Moon festival is tomorrow. You'll be missed, because your place will be empty.
約拿單對他說：「明日是初一，你的座位空設，人必理會你不在那裏。
19 In three days time, go quickly to where you hid when all this started, and stay there beside the pile of stones.
你等三日，就要速速下去，到你從前遇事所藏的地方，在以色磐石那裏等候。
20 I'll shoot three arrows to the side of it as if I were shooting at a target.
我要向磐石旁邊射三箭，如同射箭靶一樣。
21 Then I'll send a boy and tell him, ‘Go and find the arrows!’ Now, if I say to him specifically, ‘Look, the arrows are this side of you; bring them over here,’ then I swear on the life of the Lord it's safe for you to come out—there's no danger.
我要打發童子，說：『去把箭找來。』我若對童子說：『箭在後頭，把箭拿來』，你就可以回來；我指着永生的耶和華起誓，你必平安無事。
22 But if I tell the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are way past you,’ then you'll have to leave, for the Lord wants you to go away.
我若對童子說：『箭在前頭』，你就要去，因為是耶和華打發你去的。
23 As for what you and I talked about, remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
至於你我今日所說的話，有耶和華在你我中間為證，直到永遠。」
24 So David hid himself in the field. When the New Moon festival arrived, the king sat down to eat.
大衛就去藏在田野。到了初一日，王坐席要吃飯。
25 He sat in his usual place by the wall opposite Jonathan. Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.
王照常坐在靠牆的位上，約拿單侍立，押尼珥坐在掃羅旁邊，大衛的座位空設。
26 Saul didn't say anything that day because he thought, “Something has probably happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—yes, he must be unclean.”
然而這日掃羅沒有說甚麼，他想大衛遇事，偶染不潔，他必定是不潔。
27 But the second day, the day after the New Moon, David's place was still empty. Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to dinner either yesterday or today?”
初二日大衛的座位還空設。掃羅問他兒子約拿單說：「耶西的兒子為何昨日、今日沒有來吃飯呢？」
28 Jonathan answered, “David had to urgently ask my permission to go to Bethlehem.
約拿單回答掃羅說：「大衛切求我容他往伯利恆去。
29 He told me, ‘Please let me go, because our family is having a sacrifice in the town and my brother told me I had to be there. If you think well of me, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That's why he's absent from the king's table.”
他說：『求你容我去，因為我家在城裏有獻祭的事；我長兄吩咐我去。如今我若在你眼前蒙恩，求你容我去見我的弟兄』；所以大衛沒有赴王的席。」
30 Saul got very angry with Jonathan and said, “You rebellious son of a whore! Don't you think I know that you prefer the son of Jesse? Shame on you! You're a disgrace to the mother who bore you!
掃羅向約拿單發怒，對他說：「你這頑梗背逆之婦人所生的，我豈不知道你喜悅耶西的兒子，自取羞辱，以致你母親露體蒙羞嗎？
31 While the son of Jesse remains alive, you and your kingship are not secure. Now go and bring him here to me, for he has to die!”
耶西的兒子若在世間活着，你和你的國位必站立不住。現在你要打發人去，將他捉拿交給我；他是該死的。」
32 “Why does he have to be put to death?” Jonathan asked. “What has he done?”
約拿單對父親掃羅說：「他為甚麼該死呢？他做了甚麼呢？」
33 Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him, so he knew that his father definitely wanted David dead.
掃羅向約拿單掄槍要刺他，約拿單就知道他父親決意要殺大衛。
34 Jonathan left the table absolutely furious. He would not eat anything on the second day of the festival, for he was so upset by the shameful way his father had treated David.
於是約拿單氣忿忿地從席上起來，在這初二日沒有吃飯。他因見父親羞辱大衛，就為大衛愁煩。
35 In the morning Jonathan went to the field to the place he had agreed with David, and a young boy was with him.
次日早晨，約拿單按着與大衛約會的時候出到田野，有一個童子跟隨。
36 He told the boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” The boy started running and Jonathan shot an arrow past him.
約拿單對童子說：「你跑去，把我所射的箭找來。」童子跑去，約拿單就把箭射在童子前頭。
37 When the boy got to the place where Jonathan's arrow had landed, Jonathan shouted to him, “Isn't the arrow farther past you?
童子到了約拿單落箭之地，約拿單呼叫童子說：「箭不是在你前頭嗎？」
38 Hurry up! Do it quickly! Don't wait!” The boy picked up the arrows and took them back to his master.
約拿單又呼叫童子說：「速速地去，不要遲延！」童子就拾起箭來，回到主人那裏。
39 The boy didn't suspect anything—only Jonathan and David knew what it meant.
童子卻不知道這是甚麼意思，只有約拿單和大衛知道。
40 Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and said, “Take these back to town.”
約拿單將弓箭交給童子，吩咐說：「你拿到城裏去。」
41 After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the pile of stones, fell facedown to the ground, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together as friends, though David cried the hardest.
童子一去，大衛就從磐石的南邊出來，俯伏在地，拜了三拜；二人親嘴，彼此哭泣，大衛哭得更慟。
42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn a solemn oath in the name of the Lord. We said, ‘The Lord will be a witness between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to town.
約拿單對大衛說：「我們二人曾指着耶和華的名起誓說：『願耶和華在你我中間，並你我後裔中間為證，直到永遠。』如今你平平安安地去吧！」大衛就起身走了；約拿單也回城裏去了。
