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?”
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?
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!”
And he said to 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 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.”
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 “Tell me what you want me to do for you and I'll do it,” Jonathan told David.
Then said Jonathan to David, Whatever your soul desires, I will even do it for you.
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.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at even.
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.’
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 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.
If he say thus, It is well; your servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
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?”
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 “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?”
And Jonathan said, Far be it from you: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come on you, then would not I tell it you?
10 “So who's going to let me know if your father gives you a nasty answer?” David asked.
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if your father answer you roughly?
11 “Come on, let's go out into the countryside,” Jonathan said. So they both of them went out into the countryside.
And Jonathan said to 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, “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.
And Jonathan said to David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not to you, and show it you;
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.
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 While I live, please show me trustworthy love like that of the Lord so I don't die,
And you shall not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:
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.”
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 made a solemn agreement with the family of David, saying, “May the Lord impose retribution on 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 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.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “The New Moon festival is tomorrow. You'll be missed, because your place will be empty.
Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and you shall be missed, because your seat will be empty.
19 In three days time, go quickly to where you hid when all this started, and stay there beside the pile of stones.
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 I'll shoot three arrows to the side of it as if I were shooting at a target.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
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.
And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say to 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 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.
But if I say thus to the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond you; go your way: for the LORD has sent you away.
23 As for what you and I talked about, remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
And as touching the matter which you and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between you and me for ever.
24 So David hid himself in the field. When the New Moon festival arrived, the king sat down to eat.
So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.
25 He sat in his usual place by the wall opposite Jonathan. Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.
And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.
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.”
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 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?”
And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why comes not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?
28 Jonathan answered, “David had to urgently ask my permission to go to Bethlehem.
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:
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.”
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 favor in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brothers. Therefore he comes not to the king’s table.
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!
Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to 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 to the confusion of your mother’s nakedness?
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!”
For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the ground, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Why now send and fetch him to me, for he shall surely die.
32 “Why does he have to be put to death?” Jonathan asked. “What has he done?”
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why shall he be slain? what has he done?
33 Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him, so he knew that his father definitely wanted David dead.
And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
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.
So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
35 In the morning Jonathan went to the field to the place he had agreed with David, and a young boy was 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 He told the boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” The boy started running and Jonathan shot an arrow past him.
And he said to his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
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?
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 Hurry up! Do it quickly! Don't wait!” The boy picked up the arrows and took them back 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 The boy didn't suspect anything—only Jonathan and David knew what it meant.
But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and said, “Take these back to town.”
And Jonathan gave his artillery to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city.
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.
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 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.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for as much 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.
