1 Samuel 20
1 Forsothe Dauid fledde fro Naioth, which is in Ramatha, and cam and spak bifor Jonathas, What haue Y do? what is my wickidnesse, and what is my synne ayens thi fadir, for he sekith my lijf?
And David went in flight from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and said, What have I done? What is my crime and my sin against your father that he is attempting to take my life?
2 And Jonathas seide to hym, Fer be it fro thee, thou schalt not die, for my fadir schal not do ony thing greet ether litil, `no but he schewe firste to me; therfor my fadir kepte preuy fro me this word oneli, forsothe it schal not be.
And he said to him, Far be the thought: you will not be put to death: see, my father does nothing, great or small, without giving me word of it: would he keep this secret from me? It is not so.
3 And eft he swoor to Dauid. And Dauid seide, Treuli thi fadir woot, that Y haue founde grace `in thin iyen, and he schal seie, Jonathas wite not this, lest perauenture he be sory; certis the Lord lyueth, `and thi soule lyueth, for, that Y seie so, Y and deeth ben departid oneli bi o degree.
But David took his oath again and said, Your father sees that I am dear to you; so he says to himself, Let Jonathan have no idea of this, for it will be a grief to him; but as the Lord is living, and as your soul is living, there is only a step between me and death.
4 And Jonathas seide to Dauid, What euer thing thi soule schal seie to me, Y schal do to thee.
Then Jonathan said to David, Whatever your desire is, I will do it for you.
5 And Dauid seide to Jonathas, Lo! calendis ben to morewe, and bi custom Y am wont to sitte bi the kyng to ete; therfor suffre thou me, `that Y be hid in the feeld `til to euentid of the thridde dai.
And David said to Jonathan, Tomorrow is the new moon, and I will not be seated with the king at his table: but let me go to a safe place in the country till the evening.
6 If thi fadir biholdith, and axith me, thou schalt answere to hym, Dauid preiede me, that he schulde go swiftli into Bethleem, his citee, for solempne sacrifices ben there to alle the men of his lynage.
And if your father takes note of the fact that I am away, say, David made a request to me for himself that he might go to Beth-lehem, to his town: for it is the time when his family make their offering year by year.
7 If he seith, Wel, pees schal be to thi seruaunt; forsothe if he is wrooth, wite thou, that his malice is fillid.
If he says, It is well, your servant will be at peace: but if he is angry, then it will be clear to you that he has an evil purpose in mind against me.
8 Therfor do thou mercy in to thi seruaunt, for thou madist me thi seruaunt to make with thee the boond of pees of the Lord; sotheli if ony wickidnesse is in me, sle thou me, and brynge thou not in me to thi fadir.
So, then, be kind to your servant; for you have been united with your servant in an agreement made before the Lord: but if there is any wrongdoing in me, put me to death yourself; why take me to your father?
9 And Jonathas seide, Fer be this fro me, for it mai not be doon, that Y telle not to thee, if Y knowe certeynli, that the malice of my fadir is fillid ayens thee.
And Jonathan said, Do not have such a thought: for if I saw that my father was designing evil against you, would I not give you word of it?
10 And Dauid answeride to Jonathas, Who schal telle to me, if in caas thi fadir answerith harde ony thing of me?
Then David said to Jonathan, Who will give me word if your father gives you a rough answer?
11 And Jonathas seide to Dauid, Come thou, and go we forth in to the feeld. And whanne bothe hadden go in to the feeld,
And Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the country. And the two of them went out together into the open country.
12 Jonathas seide to Dauid, Lord God of Israel, if Y enquere the sentence of my fadir to morewe, ether in the nexte dai aftir, and ony `thing of good is of Dauid, and Y sende not anoon to thee,
And Jonathan said to David, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be witness; when I have had a chance of talking to my father, about this time tomorrow, if his feelings to David are good, will I not send and give you the news?
13 and make knowun to thee, God do these thingis to Jonathas, and `adde these thingis. Forsothe if the malice of my fadir contynueth ayens thee, Y schal schewe to thin eere, and Y schal delyuere thee, that thou go in pees; and the Lord be with thee, as he was with my fadir.
May the Lord's punishment be on Jonathan, if it is my father's pleasure to do you evil and I do not give you word of it and send you away so that you may go in peace: and may the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.
14 And if Y lyue, do thou the mercies of the Lord to me;
And may you, while I am still living, O may you be kind to me, as the Lord is kind, and keep me from death!
15 forsothe if Y am deed, `thou schalt not take awei thi mercy fro myn hows `til in to with outen ende; `and yif Y do it not, whanne the Lord schal drawe out bi the roote the enemyes of Dauid, ech man fro the lond, take he awei Jonathas fro his hows, and seke the Lord of the hond of the enemyes of Dauid.
And let not your mercy ever be cut off from my family, even when the Lord has sent destruction on all David's haters, cutting them off from the face of the earth.
16 Therfor Jonathas made boond of pees with the hows of Dauid, and the Lord souyte of the hond of enemyes of Dauid.
And if it comes about that the name of Jonathan is cut off from the family of David, the Lord will make David responsible.
17 And Jonathas addide to swere stedfastli to Dauid, for he louyde Dauid; for he louyde so Dauid, as his owne soule.
And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul.
18 And Jonathas seide to hym, `Calendis ben to morewe, and thou schalt be souyt;
Then Jonathan said to him, Tomorrow is the new moon: and it will be seen that you are not present, for there will be no one in your seat.
19 for thi sittyng schal be souyt til after to morewe. Therfor thou schalt go doun hastili, and thou schalt come in to the place, where thou schalt be hid in the day, whanne it is leueful to worche; and thou schalt sitte bisidis the stoon, `to which the name is Ezel.
And on the third day it will be specially noted, and you will go to the place where you took cover when the other business was in hand, waiting by the hill over there.
20 And Y schal sende thre arowis bisidis that stoon, and Y schal caste as `excercisynge ether pleiynge me at a signe.
And on the third day I will send arrows from my bow against its side as if at a mark.
21 Y schal sende also and my child, and Y schal seie to hym, Go thou, and brynge to me the arewis.
And I will send my boy to have a look for the arrow. And if I say to him, See, the arrow is on this side of you; take it up! then you may come; for there is peace for you and no evil, by the living Lord.
22 If Y seie to the child, Lo! the arewis ben `with ynne thee, take thou tho; come thou to me, for pees is to thee, and no thing is of yuel, the Lord lyueth. Sotheli if Y speke thus to the child, Lo! the arowis ben biyende thee; go thou in pees, for the Lord deliuerede thee.
But if I say to the boy, See, the arrow has gone past you: then go on your way, for the Lord has sent you away.
23 Forsothe of the word, which thou and Y han spoke, the Lord be bitwixe me and thee til in to with outen ende.
As for what you and I were talking of, the Lord is between you and me for ever.
24 Therfor Dauid was hid in the feeld; and the `calendis camen, and the kyng sat to ete breed.
So David went to a secret place in the country: and when the new moon came, the king took his place at the feast.
25 And whanne the kyng hadde seete on his chaier bi custom, `which chaier was bisidis the wal, Jonathas roos, and sat `aftir Abner, and Abner sat at the side of Saul, and the place of Dauid apperide voide.
And the king took his seat, as at other times, by the wall: and Jonathan was in front, and Abner was seated by Saul's side, but there was no one in David's seat.
26 And Saul spak not ony thing in that dai; for he thouyte, that `in hap it bifelde to hym, that he was not clene `nether purified.
But Saul said nothing that day, for his thought was, Something has taken place making him unclean; it is clear that he is not clean.
27 And whanne the secounde dai aftir the calendis hadde schyned, eft the place of Dauid apperide voide. And Saul seide to Jonathas his sone, Whi cometh not the sone of Isai, nether yisterdai, nether to dai to ete?
And on the day after the new moon, that is, the second day, there was still no one in David's seat: and Saul said to his son Jonathan, Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast yesterday or today?
28 And Jonathas answeride to Saul, He preiede me mekeli, that he schulde go in to Bethleem;
And answering Saul, Jonathan said, He made a request to me that he might go to Beth-lehem,
29 and he seide, Suffre thou me, for solempne sacrifice is in my citee; oon of my britheren clepide me; now therfor if Y foond grace `in thin iyen, Y schal go soone, and `Y schal se my britheren; for this cause he cometh not to the `table of the kyng.
Saying, Our family is making an offering in the town, and my brothers have given me orders to be there: so now, if I have grace in your eyes, let me go away and see my brothers. This is why he has not come to the king's table.
30 Forsothe Saul was wrooth ayens Jonathas, and seide to hym, Thou sone of a womman `rauyschynge at her owne wille a man, whether Y woot not, that thou louest the sone of Ysay in to thi confusioun, and in to the confusioun of thi schendful modir?
Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother?
31 For in alle the daies in whiche the sone of Isai lyueth on erthe, thou schalt not be stablischid, nether thi rewme; therfor `riyt now sende thou, and brynge hym to me, for he is the sone of deeth.
For while the son of Jesse is living on the earth, your position is unsafe and your kingdom is in danger. So make him come here to me, for it is certainly right for him to be put to death.
32 Sotheli Jonathas answeride to Saul his fadir, and seide, Whi schal he die? what hath he do?
And Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said to him, Why is he to be put to death? What has he done?
33 And Saul took the spere, that he schulde smyte hym, and Jonathas vndirstood, that it was determynd of his fadir, that Dauid schulde be slayn.
And Saul, pointing his spear at him, made an attempt to give him a wound: from which it was clear to Jonathan that his father's purpose was to put David to death.
34 Therfor Jonathas roos fro the table in `the ire of woodnesse, and he ete not breed in the secounde dai of calendis; for he was sori on Dauid, for his fadir hadde schent him.
So Jonathan got up from the table, burning with wrath, and took no part in the feast the second day of the month, being full of grief for David because his father had put shame on him.
35 And whanne the morewtid `hadde schyned, Jonathas cam in to the feeld, and a litil child with hym, bi the couenaunt of Dauid.
Now in the morning, Jonathan went out into the fields at the time he had said to David, and he had a little boy with him.
36 And Jonathas seide to his child, Go thou, and brynge to me the arowis whiche Y caste. And whanne the child hadde runne, he castide another arowe biyende the child.
And he said to the boy, Go and get the arrow I let loose from my bow. And while the boy was running, he sent an arrow past him.
37 Therfor the child cam to the place of the arowe which Jonathas hadde sent; and Jonathas criede bihynde the `bak of the child, and seide, Lo! the arowe is not there, certis it is biyende thee.
And when the boy came to the place where the arrow was, Jonathan, crying out after the boy, said, Has it not gone past you?
38 And Jonathas criede eft bihynde the bak of the child, `and seide, Haste thou swiftli, stonde thou not. Therfor the child gaderide the arowis of Jonathas, and brouyte to his lord,
And Jonathan went on crying out after the boy, Be quick, do not keep waiting about, go quickly. And Jonathan's boy got the arrow and came back to his master.
39 and outerli he wiste not what was doon; for oonli Jonathas and Dauid knewen the thing.
But the boy had no idea what was going on; only Jonathan and David had knowledge of it.
40 Therfor Jonathas yaf hise armeris to the child, and seide to hym, Go thou, bere in to the citee.
And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy, and said to him, Take these and go back to the town.
41 And whanne the child hadde go, Dauid roos fro the place that `yede to the south; and he felde low `in to the erthe, and worschipide the thridde tyme, and thei kissiden hem silf to gidere, and `wepten to gidere; forsothe Dauid wepte more.
And when the boy had gone, David came from his secret place by the hill, and falling to the earth went down on his face three times: and they gave one another a kiss, weeping together, till David's grief was the greater.
42 Therfor Jonathas seide to Dauid, Go thou in pees; what euer thingis we bothe han swoore in the `name of the Lord, `and seiden, `The Lord be bitwixe me and thee, and bitwixe my seed and thi seed til in to with outen ende, `be stidfast. And Dauid roos, and yede, but also Jonathas entride in to the citee.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we two have taken an oath, in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed for ever. Then David went away, and Jonathan went into the town.
