1 Samuel 20
1 And David flees from Naioth in Ramah, and comes, and says before Jonathan, “What have I done? What [is] my iniquity? And what [is] my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”
Then David fled from Naioth, which is in Ramah, and he went and said before Jonathan: “What have I done? What is my iniquity, or what is my sin, against your father, so that he would seek my life?”
2 And he says to him, “Far be it! You do not die; behold, my father does not do anything great or small and does not uncover my ear; and why does my father hide this thing from me? This [thing] is not.”
And he said to him: “May this not be! You shall not die. For my father will not do anything, great or small, without first revealing it to me. Therefore, has my father concealed this word solely from me? By no means shall this be!”
3 And David swears again and says, “Your father has certainly known that I have found grace in your eyes, and he says, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he is grieved; and yet, YHWH lives, and your soul lives, but—as a step between me and death.”
And he swore again to David. And David said: “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and so he will say, ‘Let Jonathan not know this, lest he be saddened.’ So truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is only one step (if I may say it) separating me from death.”
4 And Jonathan says to David, “What does your soul [desire]? Command and I do it for you.”
And Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul will tell me, I will do for you.”
5 And David says to Jonathan, “Behold, the new moon [is] tomorrow; and I certainly sit with the king to eat; and you have sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field until the third evening;
Then David said to Jonathan: “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am accustomed to sit in a seat beside the king to eat. Therefore, permit me that I may be hidden in the field, until the evening of the third day.
6 if your father looks after me at all, then you have said, David earnestly asked of me to run to his city of Beth-Lehem, for there [is] a sacrifice of the days for all the family.
If your father, looking around, will seek me, you shall respond to him: ‘David asked me if he may hurry to Bethlehem, his own city. For there are solemn sacrifices in that place for all of his tribe together.’
7 If thus he says: Good; [there is] peace for your servant; and if it is very displeasing to him—know that the evil has been determined by him;
If he will say, ‘It is well,’ then your servant will have peace. But if he will be angry, know that his malice has reached its height.
8 and you have done kindness to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of YHWH with you—and if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why [is] this [that] you bring me to your father?”
Therefore, show mercy to your servant. For you have brought me, your servant, into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any iniquity in me, you may kill me, and you shall not lead me in to your father.”
9 And Jonathan says, “Far be it from you! For I certainly do not know that the evil has been determined by my father to come on you, and I do not declare it to you.”
And Jonathan said: “May this be far from you. For certainly, if I ever realized that any wickedness was determined by my father against you, I would not be able to do anything other than report it to you.”
10 And David says to Jonathan, “Who declares [it] to me? Or what [if] your father answers you sharply?”
And David responded to Jonathan, “Who will repeat it to me, if your father may perhaps answer you harshly about me?”
11 And Jonathan says to David, “Come, and we go out into the field”; and both of them go out into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” And when they both had gone out into the field,
12 And Jonathan says to David, “YHWH, God of Israel, [is my witness]—when I search out my father about [this] time tomorrow [or] the third [day], and behold, [there is] good toward David, and I do not then send to you, and have uncovered your ear—
Jonathan said before David: “O Lord, God of Israel, if I will discover a decision by my father, tomorrow, or the day after, and if there will be anything good concerning David, and yet I do not immediately send to you and make it known to you,
13 thus YHWH does to Jonathan, and thus He adds; when the evil concerning you is good to my father, then I have uncovered your ear, and sent you away, and you have gone in peace, and YHWH is with you, as he was with my father;
may the Lord do these things to Jonathan, and may he add these other things. But if my father will have persevered in malice against you, I will reveal it to your ear, and I will send you away, so that you may go in peace, and so that the Lord may be with you, just as he was with my father.
14 and not only while I am alive do you do the kindness of YHWH with me, and I do not die,
And if I live, you shall show the mercy of the Lord to me. Yet truly, if I die,
15 but you do not cut off your kindness from my house for all time, nor in YHWH’s cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.”
you shall not take away your mercy from my house, even forever, when the Lord will have rooted out the enemies of David, each and every one of them, from the earth. May he take Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it from the hands of the enemies of David.”
16 So Jonathan cuts [a covenant] with the house of David, and YHWH has sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David;
Therefore, Jonathan formed a covenant with the house of David. And the Lord required it from the hands of the enemies of David.
17 and Jonathan adds to cause David to swear, because he loves him, for he has loved him [as] the love [for] his own soul.
And Jonathan continued to swear to David, because he loved him. For he loved him like his own soul.
18 And Jonathan says to him, “Tomorrow [is] the new moon, and you have been looked after, for your seat is looked after;
And Jonathan said to him: “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be sought.
19 and on the third day you certainly come down, and have come to the place where you were hidden in the day of the work, and have remained near the stone of Ezel.
For your seat will be empty until the day after tomorrow. Therefore, you shall descend quickly, and you shall go to the place where you are to be hidden, on a day when it is lawful to work, and you shall remain beside the stone that is called Ezel.
20 And I shoot three of the arrows at the side, sending out at a mark for myself;
And I will shoot three arrows near it, and I will cast them as if I were practicing for myself toward a mark.
21 and behold, I send the youth, [saying], Go, find the arrows. If I say to the youth at all, Behold, the arrows [are] on this side of you—take them and come, for [there is] peace for you, and there is no [adverse] word—[as] YHWH lives.
Also, I will send a boy, saying to him, ‘Go and bring the arrows to me.’
22 And if thus I say to the young man, Behold, the arrows [are] beyond you—go, for YHWH has sent you away;
If I will say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are before you, take them up,’ you shall approach before me, because there is peace for you, and there is nothing evil, as the Lord lives. But if I will have spoken to the boy in this way, ‘Behold, the arrows are away from you,’ then you shall go away in peace, for the Lord has released you.
23 as for the thing which you and I have spoken, behold, YHWH [is] between me and you for all time.”
Now about the word that you and I have spoken, may the Lord be between you and me, even forever.”
24 And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sits down by the food to eat,
Therefore, David was hidden in the field. And the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
25 and the king sits on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan rises, and Abner sits at the side of Saul, and David’s place is looked after.
And when the king had sat down on his chair, (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat beside Saul, and David’s place appeared empty.
26 And Saul has not spoken anything on that day, for he said, “It [is] an accident; he is not clean—surely not clean.”
And Saul did not say anything on that day. For he was thinking that perhaps something happened to him, so that he was not clean, or not purified.
27 And it comes to pass on the second day of the new moon, that David’s place is looked after, and Saul says to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or today, to the food?”
And when the second day after the new moon had begun to dawn, David’s place again appeared empty. And Saul said to Jonathan, his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not arrived to eat, neither yesterday, nor today?”
28 And Jonathan answers Saul, “David has earnestly asked [permission] from me [to go] to Beth-Lehem,
And Jonathan responded to Saul, “He petitioned me earnestly that he might go to Bethlehem,
29 and he says, Please send me away, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother has given command to me himself, and now, if I have found grace in your eyes, please let me go away and see my brothers; therefore he has not come to the table of the king.”
and he said: ‘Permit me. For there is a solemn sacrifice in the city. One of my brothers has summoned me. Now therefore, if I have found favor in your eyes, I will go quickly, and I will see my brothers.’ For this reason, he has not come to the table of the king.”
30 And the anger of Saul burns against Jonathan, and he says to him, “Son of a perverse [woman] of rebellion! Have I not known that you are fixing on the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of your mother?
Then Saul, becoming angry against Jonathan, said to him: “You son of a woman wantonly seizing a man! Could I be ignorant that you love the son of Jesse, to your own shame, and to the shame of your disgraceful mother?
31 For all the days that the son of Jesse lives on the ground you are not established, you and your kingdom; and now, send and bring him to me, for he [is] a son of death.”
For all the days that the son of Jesse moves upon earth, neither you, nor your kingdom, will be secure. And so, send and bring him to me, here and now. For he is a son of death.”
32 And Jonathan answers his father Saul and says to him, “Why is he put to death? What has he done?”
Then Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said: “Why should he die? What has he done?”
33 And Saul casts the javelin at him to strike him, and Jonathan knows that it has been determined by his father to put David to death.
And Saul picked up a lance, so that he might strike him. And Jonathan understood that it had been decided by his father that David be put to death.
34 And Jonathan rises from the table in the heat of anger, and has not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he has been grieved for David, for his father put him to shame.
Therefore, Jonathan rose up from the table in a rage of anger. And he did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was saddened over David, because his father had confounded him.
35 And it comes to pass in the morning, that Jonathan goes out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little youth [is] with him.
And when the morning had begun to dawn, Jonathan went into the field according to the agreement with David, and a young boy was with him.
36 And he says to his youth, “Now run, find the arrows which I am shooting”; the youth is running, and he has shot the arrow, causing [it] to pass over him.
And he said to his boy, “Go, and bring to me the arrows that I shoot.” And when the boy had run, he shot another arrow away from the boy.
37 And the youth comes to the place of the arrow which Jonathan has shot, and Jonathan calls after the youth, and says, “Is the arrow not beyond you?”
And so, the boy went to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan cried out, from behind the back of boy, and said: “Behold, the arrow is there, farther away from you.”
38 And Jonathan calls after the youth, “Speed, hurry, do not stand”; and Jonathan’s youth gathers the arrows, and comes to his lord.
And Jonathan cried out again, from behind the back of the boy, saying, “Go quickly! Do not stand still!” Then Jonathan’s boy collected the arrows, and he brought them to his lord.
39 And the youth has not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.
And he did not understand at all what was happening. For only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 And Jonathan gives his weapons to the youth whom he has and says to him, “Go, carry into the city.”
Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy, and he said to him, “Go, and carry them into the city.”
41 The youth has gone, and David has risen from Ezel, at the south, and falls on his face to the earth, and bows himself three times, and they kiss one another, and they weep with one another, until David exerted himself;
And when the boy had gone away, David rose up from his place, which turned toward the south, and falling prone on the ground, he reverenced three times. And kissing one another, they wept together, but David more so.
42 and Jonathan says to David, “Go in peace, in that we have sworn—the two of us—in the Name of YHWH, saying, YHWH is between me and you, and between my seed and your seed—for all time”; and he rises and goes; and Jonathan has gone into the city.
Then Jonathan said to David: “Go in peace. And let us both keep all that we have ever sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, even forever.’” And David rose up and went away. But Jonathan entered into the city.
