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?”
Forsothe Dauid fledde fro Naioth, which is in Ramatha, and cam and spak bifor Jonathas, What haue Y do? what is my wickidnesse, and what is my synne ayens thi fadir, for he sekith my lijf?
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 Jonathas seide to hym, Fer be it fro thee, thou schalt not die, for my fadir schal not do ony thing greet ether litil, `no but he schewe firste to me; therfor my fadir kepte preuy fro me this word oneli, forsothe it schal not be.
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 eft he swoor to Dauid. And Dauid seide, Treuli thi fadir woot, that Y haue founde grace `in thin iyen, and he schal seie, Jonathas wite not this, lest perauenture he be sory; certis the Lord lyueth, `and thi soule lyueth, for, that Y seie so, Y and deeth ben departid oneli bi o degree.
4 “Tell me what you want me to do for you and I'll do it,” Jonathan told David.
And Jonathas seide to Dauid, What euer thing thi soule schal seie to me, Y schal do to thee.
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 Dauid seide to Jonathas, Lo! calendis ben to morewe, and bi custom Y am wont to sitte bi the kyng to ete; therfor suffre thou me, `that Y be hid in the feeld `til to euentid of the thridde dai.
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 thi fadir biholdith, and axith me, thou schalt answere to hym, Dauid preiede me, that he schulde go swiftli into Bethleem, his citee, for solempne sacrifices ben there to alle the men of his lynage.
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 seith, Wel, pees schal be to thi seruaunt; forsothe if he is wrooth, wite thou, that his malice is fillid.
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?”
Therfor do thou mercy in to thi seruaunt, for thou madist me thi seruaunt to make with thee the boond of pees of the Lord; sotheli if ony wickidnesse is in me, sle thou me, and brynge thou not in me to thi fadir.
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 Jonathas seide, Fer be this fro me, for it mai not be doon, that Y telle not to thee, if Y knowe certeynli, that the malice of my fadir is fillid ayens thee.
10 “So who's going to let me know if your father gives you a nasty answer?” David asked.
And Dauid answeride to Jonathas, Who schal telle to me, if in caas thi fadir answerith harde ony thing of me?
11 “Come on, let's go out into the countryside,” Jonathan said. So they both of them went out into the countryside.
And Jonathas seide to Dauid, Come thou, and go we forth in to the feeld. And whanne bothe hadden go in to the feeld,
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.
Jonathas seide to Dauid, Lord God of Israel, if Y enquere the sentence of my fadir to morewe, ether in the nexte dai aftir, and ony `thing of good is of Dauid, and Y sende not anoon to thee,
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.
and make knowun to thee, God do these thingis to Jonathas, and `adde these thingis. Forsothe if the malice of my fadir contynueth ayens thee, Y schal schewe to thin eere, and Y schal delyuere thee, that thou go in pees; and the Lord be with thee, as he was with my fadir.
14 While I live, please show me trustworthy love like that of the Lord so I don't die,
And if Y lyue, do thou the mercies of the Lord to me;
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.”
forsothe if Y am deed, `thou schalt not take awei thi mercy fro myn hows `til in to with outen ende; `and yif Y do it not, whanne the Lord schal drawe out bi the roote the enemyes of Dauid, ech man fro the lond, take he awei Jonathas fro his hows, and seke the Lord of the hond of the enemyes of Dauid.
16 Jonathan made a solemn agreement with the family of David, saying, “May the Lord impose retribution on David's enemies.”
Therfor Jonathas made boond of pees with the hows of Dauid, and the Lord souyte of the hond of enemyes of Dauid.
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 Jonathas addide to swere stedfastli to Dauid, for he louyde Dauid; for he louyde so Dauid, as his owne soule.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “The New Moon festival is tomorrow. You'll be missed, because your place will be empty.
And Jonathas seide to hym, `Calendis ben to morewe, and thou schalt be souyt;
19 In three days time, go quickly to where you hid when all this started, and stay there beside the pile of stones.
for thi sittyng schal be souyt til after to morewe. Therfor thou schalt go doun hastili, and thou schalt come in to the place, where thou schalt be hid in the day, whanne it is leueful to worche; and thou schalt sitte bisidis the stoon, `to which the name is Ezel.
20 I'll shoot three arrows to the side of it as if I were shooting at a target.
And Y schal sende thre arowis bisidis that stoon, and Y schal caste as `excercisynge ether pleiynge me at a signe.
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.
Y schal sende also and my child, and Y schal seie to hym, Go thou, and brynge to me the arewis.
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.
If Y seie to the child, Lo! the arewis ben `with ynne thee, take thou tho; come thou to me, for pees is to thee, and no thing is of yuel, the Lord lyueth. Sotheli if Y speke thus to the child, Lo! the arowis ben biyende thee; go thou in pees, for the Lord deliuerede thee.
23 As for what you and I talked about, remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
Forsothe of the word, which thou and Y han spoke, the Lord be bitwixe me and thee til in to with outen ende.
24 So David hid himself in the field. When the New Moon festival arrived, the king sat down to eat.
Therfor Dauid was hid in the feeld; and the `calendis camen, and the kyng sat to ete breed.
25 He sat in his usual place by the wall opposite Jonathan. Abner sat next to Saul, but David's place was empty.
And whanne the kyng hadde seete on his chaier bi custom, `which chaier was bisidis the wal, Jonathas roos, and sat `aftir Abner, and Abner sat at the side of Saul, and the place of Dauid apperide voide.
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.”
And Saul spak not ony thing in that dai; for he thouyte, that `in hap it bifelde to hym, that he was not clene `nether purified.
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 whanne the secounde dai aftir the calendis hadde schyned, eft the place of Dauid apperide voide. And Saul seide to Jonathas his sone, Whi cometh not the sone of Isai, nether yisterdai, nether to dai to ete?
28 Jonathan answered, “David had to urgently ask my permission to go to Bethlehem.
And Jonathas answeride to Saul, He preiede me mekeli, that he schulde go in to Bethleem;
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 seide, Suffre thou me, for solempne sacrifice is in my citee; oon of my britheren clepide me; now therfor if Y foond grace `in thin iyen, Y schal go soone, and `Y schal se my britheren; for this cause he cometh not to the `table of the kyng.
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!
Forsothe Saul was wrooth ayens Jonathas, and seide to hym, Thou sone of a womman `rauyschynge at her owne wille a man, whether Y woot not, that thou louest the sone of Ysay in to thi confusioun, and in to the confusioun of thi schendful modir?
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 in alle the daies in whiche the sone of Isai lyueth on erthe, thou schalt not be stablischid, nether thi rewme; therfor `riyt now sende thou, and brynge hym to me, for he is the sone of deeth.
32 “Why does he have to be put to death?” Jonathan asked. “What has he done?”
Sotheli Jonathas answeride to Saul his fadir, and seide, Whi schal he die? what hath he do?
33 Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him, so he knew that his father definitely wanted David dead.
And Saul took the spere, that he schulde smyte hym, and Jonathas vndirstood, that it was determynd of his fadir, that Dauid schulde be slayn.
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.
Therfor Jonathas roos fro the table in `the ire of woodnesse, and he ete not breed in the secounde dai of calendis; for he was sori on Dauid, for his fadir hadde schent him.
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 whanne the morewtid `hadde schyned, Jonathas cam in to the feeld, and a litil child with hym, bi the couenaunt of Dauid.
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 Jonathas seide to his child, Go thou, and brynge to me the arowis whiche Y caste. And whanne the child hadde runne, he castide another arowe biyende the child.
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?
Therfor the child cam to the place of the arowe which Jonathas hadde sent; and Jonathas criede bihynde the `bak of the child, and seide, Lo! the arowe is not there, certis it is biyende thee.
38 Hurry up! Do it quickly! Don't wait!” The boy picked up the arrows and took them back to his master.
And Jonathas criede eft bihynde the bak of the child, `and seide, Haste thou swiftli, stonde thou not. Therfor the child gaderide the arowis of Jonathas, and brouyte to his lord,
39 The boy didn't suspect anything—only Jonathan and David knew what it meant.
and outerli he wiste not what was doon; for oonli Jonathas and Dauid knewen the thing.
40 Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and said, “Take these back to town.”
Therfor Jonathas yaf hise armeris to the child, and seide to hym, Go thou, bere in to the citee.
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 whanne the child hadde go, Dauid roos fro the place that `yede to the south; and he felde low `in to the erthe, and worschipide the thridde tyme, and thei kissiden hem silf to gidere, and `wepten to gidere; forsothe Dauid wepte more.
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.
Therfor Jonathas seide to Dauid, Go thou in pees; what euer thingis we bothe han swoore in the `name of the Lord, `and seiden, `The Lord be bitwixe me and thee, and bitwixe my seed and thi seed til in to with outen ende, `be stidfast. And Dauid roos, and yede, but also Jonathas entride in to the citee.
