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?”
Fugit autem David de Naioth, quae est in Ramatha, veniensque locutus est coram Ionatha: Quid feci? quae est iniquitas mea, et quod peccatum meum in patrem tuum, quia quaerit animam meam?
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.”
Qui dixit ei: Absit, non morieris: neque enim faciet pater meus quidquam grande vel parvum, nisi prius indicaverit mihi: hunc ergo celavit me pater meus sermonem tantummodo? nequaquam erit istud.
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.”
Et iuravit rursum Davidi. Et ille ait: Scit profecto pater tuus quia inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, et dicet: Nesciat hoc Ionathas, ne forte tristetur. Quinimmo vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia uno tantum (ut ita dicam) gradu, ego morsque dividimur.
4 Jonathan said to David, “I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
Et ait Ionathas ad David: Quodcumque dixerit mihi anima tua, faciam tibi.
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.
Dixit autem David ad Ionathan: Ecce calendae sunt crastino, et ego ex more sedere soleo iuxta regem ad vescendum: dimitte ergo me ut abscondar in agro usque ad vesperam diei tertiae.
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.’
Si respiciens requisierit me pater tuus, respondebis ei: Rogavit me David, ut iret celeriter in Bethlehem civitatem suam: quia victimae sollemnes ibi sunt universis contribulibus suis.
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.
Si dixerit, Bene: pax erit servo tuo. si autem fuerit iratus, scito quia completa est malitia eius.
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.”
Fac ergo misericordiam in servum tuum: quia foedus Domini me famulum tuum tecum inire fecisti. si autem est iniquitas aliqua in me, tu me interfice, et ad patrem tuum ne introducas me.
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]
Et ait Ionathas: Absit hoc a me: neque enim fieri potest, ut si certe cognovero completam esse patris mei malitiam contra te, non annunciem tibi.
10 David asked him, “How will I find out if your father answers you harshly?”
Responditque David ad Ionathan: Quis renunciabit mihi, si quid forte responderit tibi pater tuus dure de me?
11 Jonathan replied, “Come with me. We will go out into the field.” So they went together out into the field.
Et ait Ionathas ad David: Veni, et egrediamur foras in agrum. Cumque exissent ambo in agrum,
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].
ait Ionathas ad David: Domine Deus Israel, si investigavero sententiam patris mei crastino vel perendie: et aliquid boni fuerit super David, et non statim misero ad te, et notum tibi fecero,
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.
haec faciat Dominus Ionathae, et haec addat. Si autem perseveraverit patris mei malitia adversum te, revelabo aurem tuam, et dimittam te, ut vadas in pace, et sit Dominus tecum, sicut fuit cum patre meo.
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].
Et si vixero, facies mihi misericordiam Domini: si vero mortuus fuero,
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.”
non auferes misericordiam tuam a domo mea usque in sempiternum, quando eradicaverit Dominus inimicos David, unumquemque de terra: auferat Ionathan de domo sua, et requirat Dominus de manu inimicorum David.
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.”
Pepigit ergo Ionathas foedus cum domo David: et requisivit Dominus de manu inimicorum 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.
Et addidit Ionathas deierare David, eo quod diligeret illum: sicut enim animam suam, ita diligebat eum.
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).
Dixitque ad eum Ionathas: Cras calendae sunt, et requireris:
19 The day after tomorrow, in the evening, go to the place where you hid before. Wait by the pile of stones.
requiretur enim sessio tua usque perendie. Descendes ergo festinus, et venies in locum ubi celandus es in die qua operari licet, et sedebis iuxta lapidem, cui nomen est Ezel.
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.
Et ego tres sagittas mittam iuxta eum, et iaciam quasi exercens me ad signum.
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].
Mittam quoque et puerum, dicens ei: Vade, et affer mihi sagittas.
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.
Si dixero puero: Ecce sagittae intra te sunt, tolle eas: tu veni ad me, quia pax tibi est, et nihil est mali, vivit Dominus. Si autem sic locutus fuero puero: Ecce sagittae citra te sunt: vade in pace, quia dimisit te Dominus.
23 I hope/desire that Yahweh will watch you and me and enable us to never forget what we have promised each other.”
De verbo autem quod locuti sumus ego et tu, sit Dominus inter me et te usque in sempiternum.
24 So David went and hid in the field. When the Festival of the New Moon started, the king sat down to eat.
Absconditus est ergo David in agro, et venerunt calendae, et sedit rex ad comedendum panem.
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].
Cumque sedisset rex super cathedram suam (secundum consuetudinem) quae erat iuxta parietem, surrexit Ionathas, et sedit Abner ex latere Saul, vacuusque apparuit locus David.
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].”
Et non est locutus Saul quidquam in die illa: cogitabat enim quod forte evenisset ei, ut non esset mundus, nec purificatus.
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?”
Cumque illuxisset dies secunda post calendas, rursus apparuit vacuus locus David. Dixitque Saul ad Ionathan filium suum: Cur non venit filius Isai nec heri, nec hodie ad vescendum?
28 Jonathan replied, “David earnestly requested me that I permit him to go to Bethlehem.
Responditque Ionathas Sauli: Rogavit me obnixe, ut iret in Bethlehem,
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.”
et ait: Dimitte me, quoniam sacrificium sollemne est in civitate, unus de fratribus meis accersivit me: nunc ergo si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, vadam cito, et videbo fratres meos. Ob hanc causam non venit ad mensam regis.
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.
Iratus autem Saul adversum Ionathan, dixit ei: Fili mulieris virum ultro rapientis, numquid ignoro quia diligis filium Isai in confusionem tuam, et in confusionem ignominiosae matris tuae?
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!”
Omnibus enim diebus, quibus filius Isai vixerit super terram, non stabilieris tu, neque regnum tuum. Itaque iam nunc mitte, et adduc eum ad me: quia filius mortis est.
32 Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be executed? What wrong has he done?”
Respondens autem Ionathas Sauli patri suo, ait: Quare morietur? quid fecit?
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.
Et arripuit Saul lanceam ut percuteret eum. Et intellexit Ionathas quod definitum esset a patre suo, ut interficeret 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.
Surrexit ergo Ionathas a mensa in ira furoris, et non comedit in die calendarum secunda panem. Contristatus est enim super David, eo quod confudisset eum pater suus.
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.
Cumque illuxisset mane, venit Ionathas in agrum iuxta placitum David, et puer parvulus cum eo,
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.
et ait ad puerum suum: Vade, et affer mihi sagittas, quas ego iacio. Cumque puer cucurrisset, iecit aliam sagittam trans puerum.
37 When the boy ran to the place where the arrow hit the ground, Jonathan called out, “The arrow is further away!” [RHQ]
Venit itaque puer ad locum iaculi, quod miserat Ionathas: et clamavit Ionathas post tergum pueri, et ait: Ecce ibi est sagitta porro ultra te.
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.
Clamavitque iterum Ionathas post tergum pueri, dicens: Festina velociter, ne steteris. Collegit autem puer Ionathae sagittas, et attulit ad dominum suum:
39 But the boy did not understand the meaning of what Jonathan had said; only Jonathan and David knew.
et quid ageretur, penitus ignorabat: tantummodo enim Ionathas et David rem noverant.
40 Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him, “Go back to the town.”
Dedit ergo Ionathas arma sua puero, et dixit ei: Vade, et defer in civitatem.
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.
Cumque abiisset puer, surrexit David de loco, qui vergebat ad Austrum, et cadens pronus in terram, adoravit tertio: et osculantes se alterutrum, fleverunt pariter, David autem amplius.
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.
Dixit ergo Ionathas ad David: Vade in pace: quaecumque iuravimus ambo in nomine Domini, dicentes: Dominus sit inter me et te, et inter semen tuum et semen meum usque in sempiternum. Et surrexit David, et abiit: sed et Ionathas ingressus est civitatem.
