1 Samuel 20
1 Dawid dwane firii Naiot a ɛwɔ Rama kɔhunuu Yonatan. Ɔbisaa sɛ, “Bɔne bɛn na mayɛ? Bɔne bɛn na mayɛ wʼagya, a enti ɔpɛ sɛ ɔkum me yi?”
Then David fled from Naioth, which is in Ramah, and he went and said before Jonathan: “What have I done? What is my iniquity, or what is my sin, against your father, so that he would seek my life?”
2 Yonatan teaam sɛ, “Ɛnyɛ nokorɛ. Menim yie sɛ ɔnnwenee biribi a ɛte saa ho, ɛfiri sɛ, ɔka ne nsɛm nyinaa kyerɛ me; mpo, ne nsɛm nketenkete nyinaa ɔma mʼaso te. Menim sɛ ɔrentumi mfa saa asɛm a ɛte sɛɛ nsie me da. Ɛnte saa ara da!”
And he said to him: “May this not be! You shall not die. For my father will not do anything, great or small, without first revealing it to me. Therefore, has my father concealed this word solely from me? By no means shall this be!”
3 Ɛhɔ ara, Dawid kaa ntam wɔ Yonatan anim sɛ, “Wʼagya nim yɛn ayɔnkofa yi mu pefee enti, waka wɔ ne tirim sɛ, ‘Merenka nkyerɛ Yonatan. Adɛn enti na ɛsɛ sɛ mede ɔhaw to no so?’ Nanso, meka wo ntam sɛ, mene owuo ntam kwan nware koraa! Mede Awurade ne wo ara wo ɔkra ka ntam!”
And he swore again to David. And David said: “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and so he will say, ‘Let Jonathan not know this, lest he be saddened.’ So truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is only one step (if I may say it) separating me from death.”
4 Na Yonatan ka kyerɛɛ Dawid sɛ, “Kyerɛ me deɛ menyɛ!”
And Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul will tell me, I will do for you.”
5 Dawid buaa sɛ, “Ɔkyena yɛbɛdi Ɔbosome Foforɔ Afahyɛ. Ɛberɛ biara, sɛ dapɔnna no duru saa a, me ne wʼagya to nsa didi. Nanso, ɔkyena deɛ, mɛkora me ho wɔ wiram ara kɔsi ne nnansa so anwummerɛ.
Then David said to Jonathan: “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am accustomed to sit in a seat beside the king to eat. Therefore, permit me that I may be hidden in the field, until the evening of the third day.
6 Na sɛ wʼagya bisa sɛ mewɔ he a, ka kyerɛ no sɛ, ‘mesrɛɛ ɛkwan sɛ merekɔ me kurom Betlehem, na me ne me fiefoɔ akɔbɔ afirinhyia afɔdeɛ.’
If your father, looking around, will seek me, you shall respond to him: ‘David asked me if he may hurry to Bethlehem, his own city. For there are solemn sacrifices in that place for all of his tribe together.’
7 Sɛ ɔka sɛ, ‘Ɛyɛ’ a, wobɛhunu sɛ biribiara da yie. Na sɛ nso ne bo fu, na ɔgye hwanyan a, wobɛhunu sɛ, ɔrehyehyɛ ho sɛ, ɔbɛkum me.
If he will say, ‘It is well,’ then your servant will have peace. But if he will be angry, know that his malice has reached its height.
8 Ɛda saa adɔeɛ yi adi kyerɛ me, sɛ adamfo a maka ntam adi nse akyerɛ wo, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛn nyinaa wɔ apam wɔ Awurade anim. Na sɛ ɛnte saa, na mayɛ bɔne atia wʼagya a, wo ara kum me. Nanso, mesrɛ wo, nyi me mma.”
Therefore, show mercy to your servant. For you have brought me, your servant, into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any iniquity in me, you may kill me, and you shall not lead me in to your father.”
9 Yonatan teaam sɛ, “Ɛmpare me! Wo ara wonim sɛ, sɛ menim mʼagya nsusuiɛ no ho biribi a, anka maka akyerɛ wo dada.”
And Jonathan said: “May this be far from you. For certainly, if I ever realized that any wickedness was determined by my father against you, I would not be able to do anything other than report it to you.”
10 Na Dawid bisaa Yonatan sɛ, “Ɛbɛyɛ dɛn na mahunu sɛ wʼagya bo afu anaasɛ ne bo mfuiɛ?”
And David responded to Jonathan, “Who will repeat it to me, if your father may perhaps answer you harshly about me?”
11 Yonatan buaa sɛ, “Bra na yɛnkɔ wiram hɔ.” Na wɔn nyinaa kɔɔ hɔ.
And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” And when they both had gone out into the field,
12 Yonatan ka kyerɛɛ Dawid sɛ, “Ɔkyena akyi sɛsɛɛ, mɛhyɛ bɔ wɔ Awurade Israel Onyankopɔn din mu sɛ me ne mʼagya bɛkasa, na mɛma woahunu deɛ ɔka fa wo ho. Sɛ ɔdi wo ho adanseɛ pa a, mɛma woate no ntɛm.
Jonathan said before David: “O Lord, God of Israel, if I will discover a decision by my father, tomorrow, or the day after, and if there will be anything good concerning David, and yet I do not immediately send to you and make it known to you,
13 Nanso sɛ mʼagya bo afu, na ɔpɛ sɛ ɔkum wo, na sɛ manka ankyerɛ wo ma wo annwane a Awurade nkum me. Awurade nka wo ho sɛdeɛ ɔkaa mʼagya ho no.
may the Lord do these things to Jonathan, and may he add these other things. But if my father will have persevered in malice against you, I will reveal it to your ear, and I will send you away, so that you may go in peace, and so that the Lord may be with you, just as he was with my father.
14 Na fa Awurade nokorɛ dɔ no bi dɔ me ɛberɛ a mete ase yi. Na sɛ mewu,
And if I live, you shall show the mercy of the Lord to me. Yet truly, if I die,
15 na ɛba sɛ Awurade twa Dawid atamfoɔ nyinaa gu firi asase ani mpo a, nyi wʼadɔeɛ mfiri me fiefoɔ so da biara da.”
you shall not take away your mercy from my house, even forever, when the Lord will have rooted out the enemies of David, each and every one of them, from the earth. May he take Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it from the hands of the enemies of David.”
16 Enti, Yonatan ne Dawid yɛɛ apam sɛ, “Awurade ntɔre Dawid atamfoɔ nyinaa ase.”
Therefore, Jonathan formed a covenant with the house of David. And the Lord required it from the hands of the enemies of David.
17 Esiane ɔdɔ a Yonatan wɔ ma Dawid no enti, ɔmaa no tii ne ntam no mu bio, ɛfiri sɛ, na ɔdɔ no sɛdeɛ ɔdɔ ɔno ankasa ho.
And Jonathan continued to swear to David, because he loved him. For he loved him like his own soul.
18 Afei, Yonatan ka kyerɛɛ Dawid sɛ, “Ɔkyena na ɛyɛ ɔbosome foforɔ afahyɛ no. Yɛrenhunu wo, ɛfiri sɛ, wʼakonnwa so bɛda hɔ.
And Jonathan said to him: “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be sought.
19 Ɔkyena akyi, ɛrekɔ anwummerɛ no, kɔ baabi a saa nsɛm yi refiti aseɛ no, wokɔsumaa wo ho no, na twɛn wɔ aboɔ esie no ho.
For your seat will be empty until the day after tomorrow. Therefore, you shall descend quickly, and you shall go to the place where you are to be hidden, on a day when it is lawful to work, and you shall remain beside the stone that is called Ezel.
20 Mɛto agyan mmiɛnsa afa ne nkyɛn, te sɛ deɛ mereto abɔ biribi no.
And I will shoot three arrows near it, and I will cast them as if I were practicing for myself toward a mark.
21 Afei, mɛsoma abarimaa bi aka sɛ, ‘Kɔ na kɔhwehwɛ bɛmma no.’ Sɛ meka kyerɛ no sɛ, ‘Hwɛ, bɛmma no wɔ fa ha; tase brɛ me a,’ bra, ɛfiri sɛ, mmerɛ dodoɔ ko a Awurade te ase yi, wo ho sɔnn; bɔne bi nni hɔ.
Also, I will send a boy, saying to him, ‘Go and bring the arrows to me.’
22 Na sɛ meka kyerɛ abarimaa no sɛ, ‘Hwɛ, bɛmma no wɔ wʼanim’ a, ɛnneɛ, na ɛsɛ sɛ wokɔ, ɛfiri sɛ, Awurade na ɔse kɔ.
If I will say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are before you, take them up,’ you shall approach before me, because there is peace for you, and there is nothing evil, as the Lord lives. But if I will have spoken to the boy in this way, ‘Behold, the arrows are away from you,’ then you shall go away in peace, for the Lord has released you.
23 Na Awurade mmoa yɛn na yɛnni ɛbɔ a yɛahyehyɛ yɛn ho yɛn ho no so, ɛfiri sɛ ɔno ne yɛn danseni.”
Now about the word that you and I have spoken, may the Lord be between you and me, even forever.”
24 Na Dawid kɔtɛɛ wiram, na ɛberɛ a ɔbosome foforɔ afahyɛ no duruiɛ no, ɔhene no tenaa ase sɛ ɔrebɛdidi.
Therefore, David was hidden in the field. And the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
25 Ɔtenaa nʼatenaeɛ a ɛbɛn ɔfasuo ho a ɛne Yonatan di nhwɛanim, na Abner tena dii Saulo so, nanso Dawid atenaeɛ hɔ deɛ, ɛdaa hɔ bio.
And when the king had sat down on his chair, (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat beside Saul, and David’s place appeared empty.
26 Na ɛda no, Saulo anka asɛm biara. Na ɔdwenee sɛ, “Gyama asɛm bi ato Dawid a ɛmma ne ho nte mma saa afahyɛ no ase. Ɛno enti na ɔnni ha ɛnnɛ no.”
And Saul did not say anything on that day. For he was thinking that perhaps something happened to him, so that he was not clean, or not purified.
27 Na adeɛ kyeeɛ a Dawid afa hɔ ada mpan bio no, Saulo bisaa ne ba Yonatan sɛ, “Adɛn enti na Yisai babarima no amma adidie nnora ne ɛnnɛ?”
And when the second day after the new moon had begun to dawn, David’s place again appeared empty. And Saul said to Jonathan, his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not arrived to eat, neither yesterday, nor today?”
28 Yonatan buaa sɛ, “Nokorɛm, Dawid srɛɛ me ɛkwan sɛ ɔrekɔ Betlehem.
And Jonathan responded to Saul, “He petitioned me earnestly that he might go to Bethlehem,
29 Ɔkaa sɛ, ‘Ma menkɔ, ɛfiri sɛ, me fiefoɔ rebɔ afɔdeɛ wɔ kuro no mu enti, me nuabarima ahyɛ me sɛ, ɛsɛ sɛ mewɔ hɔ bi. Sɛ afei, manya wʼanim animuonyam a, ma me kwan na menkɔhwɛ me nuanom mmarima.’ Ɛno enti na wamma ɔhene didipono ho no.”
and he said: ‘Permit me. For there is a solemn sacrifice in the city. One of my brothers has summoned me. Now therefore, if I have found favor in your eyes, I will go quickly, and I will see my brothers.’ For this reason, he has not come to the table of the king.”
30 Saulo bo fuu Yonatan, ka kyerɛɛ no sɛ, “Wo ɔba kwasea, ɔbaa brakyewni tuateni ba! Wosusu sɛ mennim sɛ wopɛ sɛ Dawid di ɔhene si wo anan mu de hyɛ wo ne wo maame aniwuo?
Then Saul, becoming angry against Jonathan, said to him: “You son of a woman wantonly seizing a man! Could I be ignorant that you love the son of Jesse, to your own shame, and to the shame of your disgraceful mother?
31 Mmerɛ dodoɔ a Yisai babarima no te ase wɔ asase yi so no, worennya ɔhene nni da. Soma seesei ara na wɔnkɔfa no mmrɛ me, na menkum no!”
For all the days that the son of Jesse moves upon earth, neither you, nor your kingdom, will be secure. And so, send and bring him to me, here and now. For he is a son of death.”
32 Yonatan bisaa nʼagya sɛ, “Adɛn enti na ɛsɛ sɛ wɔkum no? Ɛdeɛbɛn na wayɛ?”
Then Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said: “Why should he die? What has he done?”
33 Ɛhɔ ara, Saulo too pea sɛ ɔde rewɔ no, akum no. Afei Yonatan hunuu sɛ nʼagya asi nʼadwene pi sɛ ɔbɛkum Dawid.
And Saul picked up a lance, so that he might strike him. And Jonathan understood that it had been decided by his father that David be put to death.
34 Yonatan de abufuden sɔre firii didipono no ho. Na ɛda a ɛtɔ so mmienu wɔ bosome no mu no, wannidi, ɛfiri sɛ, ne werɛ hoo wɔ nʼagya animguasedeɛ a ɔpɛ sɛ ɔyɛ Dawid no ho.
Therefore, Jonathan rose up from the table in a rage of anger. And he did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was saddened over David, because his father had confounded him.
35 Ade kyeeɛ no, Yonatan kɔɔ wiram. Sɛdeɛ wɔahyehyɛ ho no. Ɔfaa abarimaa ketewa bi kaa ne ho a ɔbɛboaboa ne bɛmma ano.
And when the morning had begun to dawn, Jonathan went into the field according to the agreement with David, and a young boy was with him.
36 Ɔka kyerɛɛ abarimaa no sɛ, “Hyɛ aseɛ tu mmirika kɔhwehwɛ bɛmma a metoto no.” Na abarimaa no retu mmirika akɔ no, Yonatan too bɛmma no baako traa no.
And he said to his boy, “Go, and bring to me the arrows that I shoot.” And when the boy had run, he shot another arrow away from the boy.
37 Na ɛberɛ a abarimaa no duruu baabi a Yonatan bɛmma no akɔtɔ no, Yonatan frɛɛ no sɛ, “bɛmma no ntraa wo anaa?”
And so, the boy went to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan cried out, from behind the back of boy, and said: “Behold, the arrow is there, farther away from you.”
38 Enti, Yonatan teaam sɛ, “Ka wo ho! Kɔ ntɛm! Nnyina.” Abarimaa no faa bɛmma no sane baa ne wura nkyɛn.
And Jonathan cried out again, from behind the back of the boy, saying, “Go quickly! Do not stand still!” Then Jonathan’s boy collected the arrows, and he brought them to his lord.
39 Na abarimaa no nnim yei ho hwee; Yonatan ne Dawid nko ara na na wɔnim.
And he did not understand at all what was happening. For only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 Na Yonatan de nʼakodeɛ maa abarimaa no kaa sɛ, “Kɔ, soa sane fa kɔ kurom.”
Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy, and he said to him, “Go, and carry them into the city.”
41 Ɛberɛ a abarimaa no kɔeɛ ara pɛ, Dawid pue firii baabi a ɔkɔhintaeɛ hɔ a ɛbɛn aboɔ sie no baeɛ. Na Dawid bɔɔ ne mu ase wɔ Yonatan anim, de nʼanim butuu fam. Na wɔfefee wɔn ho ano, na wɔmaa wɔn ho wɔn ho nante yie, na wɔsuiɛ, ne titire no, Dawid.
And when the boy had gone away, David rose up from his place, which turned toward the south, and falling prone on the ground, he reverenced three times. And kissing one another, they wept together, but David more so.
42 Akyire no, Yonatan ka kyerɛɛ Dawid sɛ, “Kɔ asomdwoeɛ mu, ɛfiri sɛ, yɛayɛ apam wɔ Awurade din mu. Yɛde yɛn mu biara ne yɛn mu biara mma ahyɛ Awurade nsa afebɔɔ.” Na Dawid kɔeɛ, ɛnna Yonatan nso sane kɔɔ kuro no mu.
Then Jonathan said to David: “Go in peace. And let us both keep all that we have ever sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, even forever.’” And David rose up and went away. But Jonathan entered into the city.
