1 Samuel 20
1 And David fled from Nayoth near Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he said, What have I done, and what [is] my fault, and wherein have I sinned before your father, that he seeks my life?
2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father is not wont to do a great thing or a small thing, which he doth not inform me of; and why should my father conceal this thing from me? it is not so.
And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from you: you shall not die: behold, my father will not do any thing great or small without discovering it to me; and why should my father hide this matter from me? This thing is not [so].
3 But David swore again, and said, Thy father well knoweth that I have found grace in thy eyes; wherefore he said, Jonathan must not know this, lest he be grieved: nevertheless, as truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there was but one step between me and death.
And David answered Jonathan, and said, Your father knows surely that I have found grace in your sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: but [as] the Lord lives and your soul lives, as I said, [the space] is filled up between me and death.
4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul sayeth will I do for thee.
And Jonathan said to David, What does your soul desire, and what shall I do for you.
5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new-moon, and I should as usual sit with the king to eat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow [is] the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but you shall let me go, and I will hide in the plain till the evening.
6 If thy father at all miss me, then do thou say, David asked earnestly leave of me that he might run to Beth-lechem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
And if your father do in anyway enquire for me, then shall you say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethleem his city, for [there is] there, a yearly sacrifice for all the family.
7 If he should say thus, It is well: then shall thy servant have peace; but if it be at all displeasing to him, then know that the evil is determined on by him.
If he shall say thus, Well, — [all is] safe for your servant: but if he shall answer harshly to you, know that evil is determined by him.
8 And do thou deal kindly with thy servant; for into a covenant of the Lord hast thou brought thy servant with thee; but if there be in me any iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldst thou bring me to thy father?
And you shall deal mercifully with your servant; for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with yourself: and if there is iniquity in your servant, kill me yourself; but why do you thus bring me to your father?
9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should know for certain that evil were determined on by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee?
And Jonathan said, That be far from you: for if I surely know that evil is determined by my father to come upon you, although it should not be against your cities, I will tell you.
10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell it me? or what, if thy father answer thee roughly?
And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if your father should answer roughly?
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, let us go out into the field. And they went out, both of them, into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field.
12 And Jonathan said unto David, May the God of Israel [punish me] if, when I have sounded my father about this time tomorrow, or of the third day, and, behold, if he be good toward David, I do not then send unto thee, and inform thee of it.
And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound my father as I have an opportunity, three several times, and, behold, [if good] should be determined concerning David, and I do not send to you to the field,
13 May the Lord do so to Jonathan and continue so yet farther, that, if it please my father [to do] thee evil, I will inform thee of it, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and may the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall [also] report the evil to you, and make it known to you, and I will let you go; and you shall depart in peace, and the Lord shall be with you, as he was with my father.
14 And wilt thou not, should I be yet alive, show me the kindness of the Lord, that I may not die?
And if indeed I continue to live, then shall you deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
15 But, surely, thou wilt not withdraw thy kindness from my house for ever, not even when the Lord cutteth off the enemies of David, every one, from off the face of the earth.
you shall not withdraw your mercy from my house for ever: and if you do not, when the Lord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of the earth,
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, [saying, ] May the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies.
[should it happen] that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of David, then let the Lord seek out the enemies of David.
17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new-moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be left empty.
And Jonathan said, To-morrow [is] the new moon, and you will be enquired for, because your seat will be observed as vacant.
19 And when thou hast stayed till the third day, then shalt thou go down greatly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the work-day; and thou shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
And you shall stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shall come to your place where you may hide yourself in the day of your business, and you shall wait by that stone Ezel.
20 And I will myself shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I were shooting at a mark.
And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark.
21 And, behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows; if I should now say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee: then take him and come; for there is peace to thee, and it is nothing; as the Lord liveth.
And behold, I [will] send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
22 But if thus I should say unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee: then go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee off.
If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow [is] here, and on this side of you, take it; [then] come, for it is well with you, and there is no reason [for fear, as] the Lord lives: [but] if I should say thus to the young man, The arrow [is] on that side of you, and beyond; go, for the Lord has sent you away.
23 And touching the matter of which we have spoken, thou and I, behold, the Lord is between me and thee for ever.
And as for the word which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord [is] witness between me and you for ever.
24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new-moon was come, the king set himself down to the repast to eat.
So David hides himself in the field, and the [new] month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall: and when Jonathan arose, Abner seated himself by the side of Saul, and David's place was left empty.
And he sat upon his seat as in former times, even on his seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan; and Abenner sat on one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty.
26 Nevertheless Saul spoke not the least on that day; for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; because he hath not yet purified himself.
And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It seems to have fallen out that he is not clean, because he has not purified himself.
27 And it came to pass on the morrow, the second day of the new-moon, that David's place was left empty; and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore is the son of Jesse not come, both yesterday and today, to the repast?
And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day of the month, that the place of David was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae attended both yesterday and today at the table?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David asked earnestly leave of me to go as far as Beth-lechem.
And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city;
29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family-sacrifice in the city, and my brother himself hath commanded it to me; and now, if I have found favor in thy eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, that I may see my brothers: therefore is he not come unto the king's table.
and he said, Let me go, I pray you, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and my brethren have sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in your eyes, I will even go over and see my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king.
30 And the anger of Saul was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of perverse rebelliousness! do I not know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thy own shame, and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, You son of traitorous damsels! for do I not know that you are an accomplice with the son of Jessae to your same, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?
31 For all the days that the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou wilt not have any permanence with thy kingdom: therefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, your kingdom shall not be established: now then send and take the young man, for he shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be put to death? what hath he done?
And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done?
33 And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him: and Jonathan understood that it was determined on by his father to put David to death.
And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to kill him: so Jonathan knew that this evil was determined on by his father to kill David.
34 And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food on the second day of the new-moon; for he was grieved for David; because his father had made him feel ashamed.
And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second [day] of the month, for he grieved bitterly for David, because his father determined [on mischief] against him.
35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field to the place appointed with David, and a little lad was with him.
And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field, as he appointed [to do] for a signal to David, and a little boy [was] with him.
36 And he said unto his lad, Run, do find out the arrows which I shoot: and the lad ran, and he shot the arrow so as to pass beyond him.
And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which I shoot: and the boy ran, and [Jonathan] shot an arrow, and sent it beyond [him].
37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad, and said, Behold, the arrow is beyond thee!
And the boy came to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan cried out after the lad, and said, The arrow [is] on that side of you and beyond you.
38 And Jonathan called after the lad, Make haste, speed, stay not: and Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows, and brought the arrows to his master.
39 But the lad knew not the least: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David [knew].
40 And Jonathan gave his weapons unto the lad who was with him, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city.
41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose from the south side [of the stone], 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.
And when the lad went in, then David arose from the south, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three times, and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace: what we have sworn, both of us, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever, [shall be kept]. And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and as we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be witness between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever—[even so let it be]. And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
