1 Samuel 19
1 Then Saul urged all his servants and his son Jonathan to kill David. But Jonathan liked David very much.
Then Saul instructed his son Jonathan and all his officials to kill David. But Jonathan really liked David,
2 So he warned David, “My father Saul is seeking for a way to kill you. So be careful. Tomorrow morning go and find a place to hide [in the field].
so he warned him, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning—find a place to hide and stay hidden.
3 I will ask my father to go out there with me. [While we are out there], I will talk to him about you. Then I will tell you everything that he tells me.” [So David did what Jonathan told him to do].
I'll go out with my father and stand in the field near to where you are hiding. I'll talk to him about you and see what I can find out, then I'll let you know.”
4 [The next morning], Jonathan spoke with his father, saying many good things about David. He said, “You should never do anything to harm your servant David! He has never done anything to harm you! Everything that he has done has helped you very much.
Then Jonathan spoke positively about David to his father Saul, and told him, “The king should not do anything bad to his servant David because he's not done anything bad to you—he has always served you well.
5 He was in danger of being killed when he fought against [Goliath, the champion of] the Philistia [army. By enabling David to kill him], Yahweh won a great victory for all the people of Israel. You were very happy when you saw that. Why would you want to do anything now to harm David [RHQ]? There is no reason for you to kill him, because he has not done anything wrong!”
He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about great salvation for the whole of Israel. You saw it and you were delighted, so why would you sin and spill innocent blood by killing David without having any reason?”
6 Saul listened to what Jonathan said. Then Saul said, “I solemnly promise that just as certain as Yahweh lives, I will not kill David.”
Saul accepted what Jonathan had to say, and promised with an oath: “I swear on the life of the Lord, he won't be put to death.”
7 Afterward, Jonathan summoned David and told him what he and Saul had said. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and David served Saul as he had done before.
Later Jonathan called David and told him all that had been said. Then he took him to Saul, and David worked for Saul as he had before.
8 One day a war started again, and David [led his soldiers to] fight against the Philistia army. David’s [army] attacked them very furiously, with the result that the Philistia army ran away.
War broke out once again, and David went to fight the Philistines. He attacked them so forcefully that they ran away in defeat.
9 But one day when sitting in his house, an evil spirit [sent] from Yahweh [suddenly] came upon Saul. While David was playing his harp [for Saul],
A while later an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. As David played the lyre,
10 Saul hurled his spear at David to try to fasten him to the wall. David (dodged/jumped to one side), and the spear did not hit him. The spear stuck in the wall, but that night David escaped.
Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. David managed to dodge the spear which embedded itself in the wall. Then David escaped and ran away into the night.
11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house. He told them to watch the house and to kill David [while he was leaving the house] the following morning. But David’s wife Michal [saw them and] warned him, “To survive, you must run away tonight, because if you do not do that, you will be killed tomorrow!”
Saul sent some messengers to David's house to keep watch and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed.”
12 So she enabled David to climb out through a window, and he ran away and escaped.
Michal lowered David down from a window, and he ran off, managing to escape.
13 Then Michal took an idol and put it in the bed. She covered it with some [of David’s] clothes, and put some goat’s hair on the head of the idol.
Then she took a home idol and laid it in the bed, put a goat hair wig on its head, and covered it with bedclothes.
14 When the messengers came [to the house the next morning], she told them that David was sick [and could not get out of bed].
When Saul sent the messengers to arrest David, Michal told them, “He's sick.”
15 [When they reported that to] Saul, he told them to go back to David’s house. He said to them, “Bring him to me lying on his bed, in order that I can kill him!”
Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him to me in the bed so I can kill him.”
16 But when those men entered David’s house, they saw that there was only an idol in the bed, with goat’s hair on its head.
But when the messengers went into the bedroom, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair wig on its head.
17 [When they reported that to Saul, ] Saul [summoned] Michal [and] said to her, “Why did you trick me like that? You allowed my enemy to escape!” Michal replied to Saul, “David told me that if I did not help him escape, he would kill me!” [RHQ]
“Why did you trick me like this—helping my enemy get away so he could escape?” Saul asked Michal. “He told me, ‘Get out of my way! I don't want to have to kill you!’” Michal replied.
18 After David had escaped from Saul, he went to Samuel, who was [at his home] at Ramah. He told Samuel everything that Saul had done to [try to kill] him. Then David and Samuel went to Naioth, [which was a section] of [Ramah city], and they stayed there.
This is how David got away and escaped. He went to Samuel at Ramah and explained to him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in Naioth.
19 Someone told Saul that David was in Naioth.
When Saul got to hear that David was at Naioth in Ramah,
20 So Saul sent some messengers to capture David. [When] those messengers [arrived in Ramah, they] met some men who were proclaiming ecstatic messages, and Samuel was there, as their leader. When Saul’s messengers met them, the Spirit of God took control of Saul’s men, and they also spoke ecstatically.
he sent messengers to arrest him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading out, the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers and they started prophesying too.
21 When Saul heard about that, he sent messengers a third time, but they also started to speak ecstatically.
Saul was told what had happened, so he sent more messengers, and they started prophesying as well.
22 Finally, Saul himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the well at [a place named] Secu, he asked people there, “Where are Samuel and David?” The people replied, “They are at Naioth in Ramah [city].”
For the third time Saul sent messengers, and they also started prophesying.
23 While Saul was walking toward Naioth, the Spirit of God also took control of him. [While he walked on], he continued speaking ecstatic messages until he came to Naioth.
In the end Saul went himself to Ramah and arrived at the large cistern at Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he asked. “At Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him. So Saul went on to Naioth at Ramah, but the Spirit of God even came on him, and he was prophesying as he walked along until he arrived in Naioth.
24 There he took off his clothes, and he spoke messages from God in front of Samuel. He lay on the ground doing that all day and all night. That is the reason that [when people see someone doing something that is very unexpected, they think about what happened to Saul, and] they say, “We are surprised, like the people were surprised to see Saul [acting like] a prophet?” [RHQ]
Then Saul also took off his clothes and he too prophesied in Samuel's presence. Then he fell down and lay there naked all that day and all that night. That's why it is said, “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”
