1 Samuel 20
1 David ran away from [the] Naioth [section] of Ramah [city]. He went to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done [to displease your father]? What did I do that was wrong? Why is he trying to kill me?”
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 thy father, that he seeks my life?
2 Jonathan replied, “My father is surely not trying to kill you! He always tells me before he does anything that he is planning. He tells me about important things and unimportant things that he plans to do. (Why would he refuse to tell me [if he were planning to kill me]?/I am sure that he would not refuse to tell me [if he were planning to kill you].) [RHQ] So what you are saying cannot be true.”
And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee: thou shalt 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 Then David solemnly declared this to Jonathan: “Your father knows very well that you and I are very good friends, so he says to himself, ‘I will not tell Jonathan [what I am going to do]. If I tell Jonathan, he will be upset/distressed, [and then he will tell David].’ But just as certain as Yahweh lives and you live, I am only one step away from being killed.”
And David answered Jonathan, and said, Thy father knows surely that I have found grace in thy sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: but [as] the Lord lives and thy soul lives, as I said, [the space] is filled up between me and death.
4 Jonathan said to David, “I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
And Jonathan said to David, What does thy soul desire, and what shall I do for thee.
5 David replied, “Tomorrow we will celebrate the Festival of the New Moon. I always eat with the king at that festival. But tomorrow I will hide in the field, and I will stay there for one night. I will stay there until the evening of the day after tomorrow.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow [is] the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but thou shalt let me go, and I will hide in the plain till the evening.
6 If your father asks why I am not there at the festival, say to him, ‘David requested me to allow him to go to his home in Bethlehem, where his family will offer the sacrifice that they offer [during this festival] every year.’
And if thy father do in anywise enquire for me, then shalt thou 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 your father says ‘That is okay’, then I know I will be safe. But if he becomes extremely angry, you will know that he is determined to harm me.
If he shall say thus, Well, — [all is] safe for thy servant: but if he shall answer harshly to thee, know that evil is determined by him.
8 Please be kind to me. Yahweh heard you when you made a solemn agreement with me [that you and I will always be loyal friends]. If I deserve to be punished [MTY], kill me yourself. I do not want [RHQ] you to allow your father to punish [IDM] me.”
And thou shalt deal mercifully with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thyself: and if there is iniquity in thy servant, slay me thyself; but why dost thou thus bring me to thy father?
9 Jonathan replied, “I will never do that! But if I find out that my father is determined to harm/kill you, I will certainly warn you.” [RHQ]
And Jonathan said, That be far from thee: for if I surely know that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee, although it should not be against thy cities, I will tell thee.
10 David asked him, “How will I find out if your father answers you harshly?”
And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if thy father should answer roughly?
11 Jonathan replied, “Come with me. We will go out into the field.” So they went together out into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field.
12 There Jonathan said to David, “I promise this while Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], is listening: At this time the day after tomorrow, I will find out what my father [is thinking about you]. If he is saying good things about you, I will certainly send a message to you to tell that to you [RHQ].
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 thee to the field,
13 But if he is planning to hurt/kill you, I will enable you to know [IDM] that, and enable you to go away safely. I desire that Yahweh will punish me severely if I do not do that [for you]. I desire/hope that Yahweh will be with you [and help you] like he has helped my father.
God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall [also] report the evil to thee, and make it known to thee, and I will let thee go; and thou shalt depart in peace, and the Lord shall be with thee, as he was with my father.
14 But while I am still alive, please be kind to me in the same way that Yahweh is kind to me, and do not kill me [when you become king].
And if indeed I continue to live, then shalt thou deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
15 But [if I die, ] never stop being kind to my family, [even] after Yahweh has gotten rid of all your enemies all over the earth.”
thou shalt not withdraw thy mercy from my house for ever: and if thou doest not, when the Lord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of the earth,
16 [David agreed]. So Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David. And he said, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will get rid of all your 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 requested David to repeat his solemn promise to be his close friend, because Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.
And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him.
18 Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate the Festival of the New Moon. When you are not sitting at your place when we eat, my father will (miss you/see that you are not there).
And Jonathan said, To-morrow [is] the new moon, and thou wilt be enquired for, because thy seat will be observed as vacant.
19 The day after tomorrow, in the evening, go to the place where you hid before. Wait by the pile of stones.
And thou shalt stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shalt come to thy place where thou mayest hide thyself in the day of thy business, and thou shalt wait by that ergab.
20 I will come out and shoot three arrows as though I were trying to shoot at a target. [The arrows will hit the ground] close to the pile of stones.
And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark.
21 Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back to me. If you hear me say to him, ‘They are closer to me’, then as surely as Yahweh lives, you will know that everything is fine, [and that Saul will not kill you].
And behold, I [will] send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
22 But if I tell him, ‘The arrows are farther away’, you will know that you must leave immediately, because Yahweh wants you to run away.
If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow [is] here, and on this side of thee, take it; [then] come, for it is well with thee, 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 thee, and beyond; go, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
23 I hope/desire that Yahweh will watch you and me and enable us to never forget what we have promised each other.”
And as for the word which thou and I have spoken, behold, the Lord [is] witness between me and thee for ever.
24 So David went and hid in the field. When the Festival of the New Moon started, the king sat down to eat.
So David hides himself in the field, and the [new] month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
25 He sat where he usually sat, close to the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner [the army commander] sat next to Saul. But no one was sitting in the place where David [usually sat].
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 On that day, Saul did not say anything about David, because he was thinking, “Something must have happened that caused David to become unacceptable [to worship God].”
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 But the next day, when David was not sitting at the place where he usually sat, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why has that son of Jesse not been here to eat with us yesterday and today?”
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 Jonathan replied, “David earnestly requested me that I permit him to go to Bethlehem.
And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city;
29 He said, ‘Please allow me to go, because our family is going to offer a sacrifice. My [older] brother insisted that I be there. So please allow me to go to be with my [older] brothers.’ [I allowed David to go], and that is the reason that he is not here eating with you.”
and he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and my brethren have sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, I will even go over and see my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king.
30 Saul was (furious/very angry) with Jonathan. He yelled at him, “You stupid bastard [EUP]! I know that you are being loyal to that son of Jesse. By doing that, you will bring shame to yourself and to your mother.
And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, Thou son of traitorous damsels! for do I not know that thou art an accomplice with the son of Jessae to thy same, and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
31 As long as Jesse’s son is living, you will never become the king, and you will never rule over a kingdom! So now, summon David, and bring him to me. He must be executed!”
For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, thy kingdom shall not be established: now then send and take the young man, for he shall surely die.
32 Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be executed? What wrong has he done?”
And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done?
33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to kill him, [but the spear did not hit him]. So Jonathan knew that his father really wanted to kill David.
And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to slay him: so Jonathan knew that this evil was determined on by his father to slay David.
34 Jonathan was very angry, and he left the room. On that second day of the festival, he refused to eat anything. He was disgusted about what his father had done, and he was worried about David.
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 The following morning Jonathan went out to the field to give a message to David, like he had agreed that he would do. He took a young boy 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 Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow ahead of the boy.
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 When the boy ran to the place where the arrow hit the ground, Jonathan called out, “The arrow is further away!” [RHQ]
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 thee and beyond thee.
38 Then he shouted to the boy, “Act quickly; do not wait! Do not stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to Jonathan.
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 boy did not understand the meaning of what Jonathan had said; only Jonathan and David knew.
And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David [knew].
40 Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him, “Go back to the town.”
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city.
41 When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the pile of stones behind which he had been hiding. He went to Jonathan and bowed [in front of Jonathan] three times, with his face touching the ground. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other [on the cheek/neck], and they cried together. But David cried more than Jonathan.
And when the lad went in, then David arose from the argab, 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 Jonathan said to David, “May things go well for you as you go. Yahweh has heard what we solemnly promised to always do for each other, and what we said that our descendants must do for each other.” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
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 thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever—[even so let it be]. And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
