I Samuelis 20
1 Fugit autem David de Najoth, quæ est in Ramatha, veniensque locutus est coram Jonatha: Quid feci? quæ est iniquitas mea, et quod peccatum meum in patrem tuum, quia quærit animam meam?
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?”
2 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.
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.”
3 Et juravit rursum Davidi. Et ille ait: Scit profecto pater tuus quia inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, et dicet: Nesciat hoc Jonathas, ne forte tristetur. Quinimmo vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia uno tantum (ut ita dicam) gradu ego morsque dividimur.
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.”
4 Et ait Jonathas ad David: Quodcumque dixerit mihi anima tua, faciam tibi.
Jonathan said to David, “I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
5 Dixit autem David ad Jonathan: Ecce calendæ sunt crastino, et ego ex more sedere soleo juxta regem ad vescendum: dimitte ergo me ut abscondar in agro usque ad vesperam diei tertiæ.
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.
6 Si respiciens requisierit me pater tuus, respondebis ei: Rogavit me David ut iret celeriter in Bethlehem civitatem suam, quia victimæ solemnes ibi sunt universis contribulibus suis.
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.’
7 Si dixerit: Bene: pax erit servo tuo. Si autem fuerit iratus, scito quia completa est malitia ejus.
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.
8 Fac ergo misericordiam in servum tuum, quia fœdus Domini me famulum tuum tecum inire fecisti: si autem est iniquitas aliqua in me, tu me interfice, et ad patrem tuum ne introducas me.
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.”
9 Et ait Jonathas: Absit hoc a te: neque enim fieri potest, ut si certe cognovero completam esse patris mei malitiam contra te, non annuntiem tibi.
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]
10 Responditque David ad Jonathan: Quis renuntiabit mihi, si quid forte responderit tibi pater tuus dure de me?
David asked him, “How will I find out if your father answers you harshly?”
11 Et ait Jonathas ad David: Veni, et egrediamur foras in agrum. Cumque exissent ambo in agrum,
Jonathan replied, “Come with me. We will go out into the field.” So they went together out into the field.
12 ait Jonathas ad David: Domine Deus Israël, si investigavero sententiam patris mei crastino vel perendie, et aliquid boni fuerit super David, et non statim misero ad te, et notum tibi fecero,
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].
13 hæc faciat Dominus Jonathæ, et hæc 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.
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.
14 Et si vixero, facies mihi misericordiam Domini: si vero mortuus fuero,
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].
15 non auferes misericordiam tuam a domo mea usque in sempiternum, quando eradicaverit Dominus inimicos David, unumquemque de terra: auferat Jonathan de domo sua, et requirat Dominus de manu inimicorum David.
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.”
16 Pepigit ergo Jonathas fœdus cum domo David: et requisivit Dominus de manu inimicorum David.
[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.”
17 Et addidit Jonathas dejerare David, eo quod diligeret illum: sicut enim animam suam, ita diligebat eum.
And Jonathan requested David to repeat his solemn promise to be his close friend, because Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.
18 Dixitque ad eum Jonathas: Cras calendæ sunt, et requireris:
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).
19 requiretur enim sessio tua usque perendie. Descendes ergo festinus, et venies in locum ubi celandus es in die qua operari licet, et sedebis juxta lapidem cui nomen est Ezel.
The day after tomorrow, in the evening, go to the place where you hid before. Wait by the pile of stones.
20 Et ego tres sagittas mittam juxta eum, et jaciam quasi exercens me ad signum.
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.
21 Mittam quoque et puerum, dicens ei: Vade, et affer mihi sagittas.
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].
22 Si dixero puero: Ecce sagittæ 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 sagittæ ultra te sunt: vade in pace, quia dimisit te Dominus.
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.
23 De verbo autem quod locuti sumus ego et tu, sit Dominus inter me et te usque in sempiternum.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will watch you and me and enable us to never forget what we have promised each other.”
24 Absconditus est ergo David in agro, et venerunt calendæ, et sedit rex ad comedendum panem.
So David went and hid in the field. When the Festival of the New Moon started, the king sat down to eat.
25 Cumque sedisset rex super cathedram suam (secundum consuetudinem) quæ erat juxta parietem, surrexit Jonathas, et sedit Abner ex latere Saul: vacuusque apparuit locus David.
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].
26 Et non est locutus Saul quidquam in die illa: cogitabat enim quod forte evenisset ei, ut non esset mundus, nec purificatus.
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].”
27 Cumque illuxisset dies secunda post calendas, rursus apparuit vacuus locus David. Dixitque Saul ad Jonathan filium suum: Cur non venit filius Isai nec heri nec hodie ad vescendum?
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?”
28 Responditque Jonathas Sauli: Rogavit me obnixe ut iret in Bethlehem,
Jonathan replied, “David earnestly requested me that I permit him to go to Bethlehem.
29 et ait: Dimitte me, quoniam sacrificium solemne 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.
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.”
30 Iratus autem Saul adversum Jonathan, dixit ei: Fili mulieris virum ultro rapientis, numquid ignoro quia diligis filium Isai in confusionem tuam, et in confusionem ignominiosæ matris tuæ?
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.
31 Omnibus enim diebus quibus filius Isai vixerit super terram, non stabilieris tu, neque regnum tuum. Itaque jam nunc mitte, et adduc eum ad me: quia filius mortis est.
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!”
32 Respondens autem Jonathas Sauli patri suo, ait: Quare morietur? quid fecit?
Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be executed? What wrong has he done?”
33 Et arripuit Saul lanceam ut percuteret eum. Et intellexit Jonathas quod definitum esset a patre suo, ut interficeret David.
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.
34 Surrexit ergo Jonathas a mensa in ira furoris, et non comedit in die calendarum secunda panem. Contristatus est enim super David, eo quod confudisset eum pater suus.
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.
35 Cumque illuxisset mane, venit Jonathas in agrum juxta placitum David, et puer parvulus cum eo.
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.
36 Et ait ad puerum suum: Vade, et affer mihi sagittas quas ego jacio. Cumque puer cucurrisset, jecit aliam sagittam trans puerum.
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.
37 Venit itaque puer ad locum jaculi quod miserat Jonathas: et clamavit Jonathas post tergum pueri, et ait: Ecce ibi est sagitta porro ultra te.
When the boy ran to the place where the arrow hit the ground, Jonathan called out, “The arrow is further away!” [RHQ]
38 Clamavitque iterum Jonathas post tergum pueri, dicens: Festina velociter, ne steteris. Collegit autem puer Jonathæ sagittas, et attulit ad dominum suum:
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.
39 et quid ageretur, penitus ignorabat, tantummodo enim Jonathas et David rem noverant.
But the boy did not understand the meaning of what Jonathan had said; only Jonathan and David knew.
40 Dedit ergo Jonathas arma sua puero, et dixit ei: Vade, et defer in civitatem.
Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him, “Go back to the town.”
41 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.
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.
42 Dixit ergo Jonathas ad David: Vade in pace: quæcumque juravimus ambo in nomine Domini, dicentes: Dominus sit inter me et te, et inter semen meum et semen tuum usque in sempiternum. Et surrexit David, et abiit: sed et Jonathas ingressus est civitatem.
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.
