1 Samuel 20
1 And David fleeth from Naioth in Ramah, and cometh, and saith before Jonathan, 'What have I done? what [is] mine iniquity? and what my sin before thy father, that he is seeking my life?'
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 And he saith to him, 'Far be it! thou dost not die; lo, my father doth not do anything great or small and doth not uncover mine ear; and wherefore doth my father hide from me this thing? this [thing] is not.'
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 And David sweareth again, and saith, 'Thy father hath certainly known that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved; and yet, Jehovah liveth, and thy soul liveth, but — as a step between me and death.'
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 And Jonathan saith to David, 'What doth thy soul say? — and I do it for thee.'
And Jonathan said to David, What does thy soul desire, and what shall I do for thee.
5 And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Lo, the new moon [is] to-morrow; and I do certainly sit with the king to eat; and thou hast sent me away, and I have been hidden in a field till the third evening;
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 thy father at all look after me, and thou hast said, David asked earnestly of me to run to Beth-Lehem his city, for a sacrifice of the days [is] there for all the family.
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 thus he say: Good; peace [is] for thy servant; and if it be very displeasing to him — know that the evil hath been determined by him;
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 and thou hast done kindness, to thy servant, for into a covenant of Jehovah thou hast brought thy servant with thee; — and if there is in me iniquity, put thou me to death; and unto thy father, why is this — thou dost bring me in?'
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 And Jonathan saith, 'Far be it from thee! for I certainly do not know that the evil hath been determined by my father to come upon thee, and I do not declare it to thee.'
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 And David saith unto Jonathan, 'Who doth declare to me? or what [if] thy father doth answer thee sharply?'
And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if thy father should answer roughly?
11 And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Come, and we go out into the field;' and they go out both of them into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field.
12 And Jonathan saith unto David, 'Jehovah, God of Israel — when I search my father, about [this] time to-morrow [or] the third [day], and lo, good [is] towards David, and I do not then send unto thee, and have uncovered thine ear —
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 thus doth Jehovah do to Jonathan, and thus doth He add; when the evil concerning thee is good to my father, then I have uncovered thine ear, and sent thee away, and thou hast gone in peace, and Jehovah is with thee, as he was with 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 and not only while I am alive dost thou do with me the kindness of Jehovah, and I die not,
And if indeed I continue to live, then shalt thou deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
15 but thou dost not cut off thy kindness from my house unto the age, nor in Jehovah's cutting off the enemies of David, each one from off the face of the ground.'
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 And Jonathan covenanteth with the house of David, and Jehovah hath sought [it] from the hand of the enemies of David;
[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 addeth to cause David to swear, because he loveth him, for with the love of his own soul he hath loved him.
And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him.
18 And Jonathan saith to him, 'To-morrow [is] new moon, and thou hast been looked after, for thy seat is looked after;
And Jonathan said, To-morrow [is] the new moon, and thou wilt be enquired for, because thy seat will be observed as vacant.
19 and on the third day thou dost certainly come down, and hast come in unto the place where thou wast hidden in the day of the work, and hast remained near the stone Ezel.
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 'And I shoot three of the arrows at the side, sending out for myself at a mark;
And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark.
21 and lo, I send the youth: Go, find the arrows. If I at all say to the youth, Lo, the arrows [are] on this side of thee — take them, — then come thou, for peace [is] for thee, and there is nothing; Jehovah liveth.
And behold, I [will] send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
22 And if thus I say to the young man, Lo, the arrows [are] beyond thee, — go, for Jehovah hath sent thee 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 as to the thing which we have spoken, I and thou, lo, Jehovah [is] between me and thee — unto the age.'
And as for the word which thou and I have spoken, behold, the Lord [is] witness between me and thee for ever.
24 And David is hidden in the field, and it is the new moon, and the king sitteth down by the food to eat,
So David hides himself in the field, and the [new] month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
25 and the king sitteth on his seat, as time by time, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan riseth, and Abner sitteth at the side of Saul, and David's place is looked after.
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 And Saul hath not spoken anything on that day, for he said, 'It [is] an accident; he is not clean — surely not clean.'
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 And it cometh to pass on the second morrow of the new moon, that David's place is looked after, and Saul saith unto Jonathan his son, 'Wherefore hath the son of Jesse not come in, either yesterday or to-day, unto the food?'
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 And Jonathan answereth Saul, 'David hath been earnestly asked of me unto Beth-Lehem,
And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city;
29 and he saith, Send me away, I pray thee, for a family sacrifice we have in the city, and my brother himself hath given command to me, and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren; therefore he hath not come unto the table of the king.'
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 And the anger of Saul burneth against Jonathan, and he saith to him, 'Son of a perverse rebellious woman! have I not known that thou art fixing on the son of Jesse to thy shame, and to the shame of the nakedness of thy 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 for all the days that the son of Jesse liveth on the ground thou art not established, thou and thy kingdom; and now, send and bring him unto me, for he [is] a son of death.'
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 And Jonathan answereth Saul his father, and saith unto him, 'Why is he put to death? what hath he done?'
And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done?
33 And Saul casteth the javelin at him to smite him, and Jonathan knoweth that it hath been determined by his father to put David to death.
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 And Jonathan riseth from the table in the heat of anger, and hath not eaten food on the second day of the new moon, for he hath been grieved for David, for his father put him to shame.
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 And it cometh to pass in the morning, that Jonathan goeth out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little youth [is] 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 And he saith to his youth, 'Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am shooting;' the youth is running, and he hath shot the arrow, causing [it] to pass over him.
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 And the youth cometh unto the place of the arrow which Jonathan hath shot, and Jonathan calleth after the youth, and saith, 'Is not the arrow beyond thee?'
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 and Jonathan calleth after the youth, 'Speed, haste, stand not;' and Jonathan's youth gathereth the arrows, and cometh unto his lord.
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 And the youth hath not known anything, only Jonathan and David knew the word.
And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David [knew].
40 And Jonathan giveth his weapons unto the youth whom he hath, and saith to him, 'Go, carry into the city.'
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city.
41 The youth hath gone, and David hath risen from Ezel, at the south, and falleth on his face to the earth, and boweth himself three times, and they kiss one another, and they weep one with another, till David exerted himself;
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 and Jonathan saith to David, 'Go in peace, in that we have sworn — we two — in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah is between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed — unto the age;' and he riseth and goeth; and Jonathan hath gone in to the city.
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.
