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 the dwellings at Ramah, and came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is my iniquity? What is my sin before your father, that he seeks 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.”
He said to him, "Far from it; you shall not die. Look, my father does nothing either great or small, but that he discloses it to me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so."
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 David answered and said, "Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he says, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved:' but truly as YHWH lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death."
4 And Jonathan says to David, “What does your soul [desire]? Command and I do it for you.”
Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever your soul desires, 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;
So David said to Jonathan, "Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. Instead, let me go so that I may hide myself in the field until evening.
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 missed me at all, then say, 'David urgently requested of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'
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 says, 'It is well;' your servant shall have peace: but if he be angry, then know that evil is determined by him.
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 deal kindly with your servant; for you have brought your servant into a covenant of YHWH with you: but if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself; for why should you bring me 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.”
Jonathan said, "Far be it from you; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come on you, then wouldn't I tell you that?"
10 And David says to Jonathan, “Who declares [it] to me? Or what [if] your father answers you sharply?”
Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"
11 And Jonathan says to David, “Come, and we go out into the field”; and both of them go out into the field.
Jonathan said to David, "Come, and let us go out into the field." They both went 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 to David, "YHWH, the God of Israel, is witness. When I have studied my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, look, if there is good toward David, shall I not then send to you, and disclose it 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;
But should it please my father to do you harm, God do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not let you know and send you away, that you may go in safety. And may YHWH be with you, as he has been 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 am still alive, deal loyally with me. But 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.”
do not cut off your loyalty from my house forever. And when YHWH cuts off the enemies of David, each one from the face of the earth,
16 So Jonathan cuts [a covenant] with the house of David, and YHWH has sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David;
if the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David, then may YHWH require it at the hand 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 swore to David again, because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved 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;
Then Jonathan said, "Tomorrow is the new moon: and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
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.
On the third day you should go down quickly, and come to the place where you hid yourself when this started, and stay by that mound.
20 And I shoot three of the arrows at the side, sending out at a mark for myself;
And as for me, on the third day I will shoot arrows to its side, aiming it toward a target.
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.
Look, I will send the boy, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I tell the boy, 'Look, the arrow is on this side of you. Take it;' then come; for there is peace to you and no hurt, as YHWH lives.
22 And if thus I say to the young man, Behold, the arrows [are] beyond you—go, for YHWH has sent you away;
But if I say this to the boy, 'Look, the arrow is beyond you;' then go your way; for YHWH has sent you away.
23 as for the thing which you and I have spoken, behold, YHWH [is] between me and you for all time.”
Concerning the matter which you and I have spoken of, look, YHWH is a witness between you and me 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,
So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon had come, the king sat at the table to eat.
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.
The king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was 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.”
Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day: for he thought, "Something has happened to him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean."
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?”
It happened on the next day after the new moon, the second day, that David's place was empty. Saul said to Jonathan his son, "Why hasn't the son of Jesse come to the table, either yesterday or today?"
28 And Jonathan answers Saul, “David has earnestly asked [permission] from me [to go] to Beth-Lehem,
Jonathan answered Saul, and said, "David earnestly asked leave of me to 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.”
He said, 'Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city. And as for me, my brothers have ordered me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go away and see my brothers.' Therefore he has not come to the king's table."
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's anger flared up at Jonathan, and he said to him, "You son of a rebellious slave girl, don't I know that you are the companion of the son of Jesse, to your own disgrace, and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness?
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 as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, your kingdom will not be established. Therefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die."
32 And Jonathan answers his father Saul and says to him, “Why is he put to death? What has he done?”
But Jonathan answered Saul, "Why should he be put to death? 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.
Then Saul threw his spear at him to strike him, and Jonathan realized that this evil from his father to kill David was determined.
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.
So Jonathan sprang up from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had dishonored 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.
It happened in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy 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.
He said to the boy, "Run, find now the arrows which I shoot." And as the boy ran, he shot an arrow, causing it to pass beyond, toward the city.
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?”
When the boy had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the youth, and said, "Isn't the arrow beyond 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.
Jonathan cried after the boy, "Go fast. Hurry. Do not delay." Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 And the youth has not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.
But the boy did not know anything. 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.”
Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to him, "Go, carry them to 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;
As soon as the boy was gone, David arose from beside the mound, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another, and wept one with another, and David wept the most.
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, "Go in peace, because we have both sworn in the name of YHWH, saying, 'YHWH shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.'" He arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.
