David Protected from Saul

1 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants ato put David to death. But bJonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David.

2 So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. Now therefore, please be on guard in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

3 “I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; aif I 1find out anything, then I will tell you.”

4 Then Jonathan aspoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “bDo not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very 1beneficial to you.

5 “For ahe took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and bthe Lord brought about a great deliverance for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. cWhy then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?”

6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.”

7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as aformerly.

8 When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines and 1defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled before him.

9 Now there was aan evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house bwith his spear in his hand, cand David was playing the harp with his hand.

10 aSaul tried to 1pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he 2stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

11 Then aSaul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.”

12 aSo Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped.

13 Michal took athe 1household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.

14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “aHe is sick.”

15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on 1his bed, that I may put him to death.”

16 When the messengers entered, behold, the 1household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head.

17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! aWhy should I put you to death?’ ”

18 Now David fled and escaped and came ato Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in bNaioth.

19 It was told Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”

20 Then aSaul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw bthe company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and cthey also prophesied.

21 When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied.

22 Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”

23 He 1proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and athe Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

24 He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and 1lay down 2anaked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “bIs Saul also among the prophets?”

Chapter 20

David and Jonathan Covenant

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and asaid 1to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?”

2 He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small 1without disclosing it to me. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

3 Yet David avowed again, 1saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.’ But truly bas the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is 2hardly a step between me and death.”

4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever 1you say, I will do for you.”

5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is athe new moon, and I ought bto sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, cthat I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

6 “If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to aBethlehem his city, because it is bthe yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’

7 “If he 1says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, aknow that he has decided on evil.

8 “Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for ayou have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But bif there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?”

9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?”

10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me 1if your father answers you harshly?”

11 Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

12 Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and 1make it known to you?

13 “If it please my father to do you harm, amay the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not 1make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And bmay the Lord be with you as He has been with my father.

14 “If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the Lord, that I may not die?

15 “aYou shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “aMay the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.”

17 Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because ahe loved him as he loved his own life.

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “aTomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty.

19 “When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel.

20 “I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target.

21 “And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and 1no harm, as the Lord lives.

22 “But if I 1say to the youth, ‘aBehold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away.

23 “aAs for the 1agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, bthe Lord is between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food.

25 The king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but aDavid’s place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he thought, “It is an accident, ahe is not clean, surely he is not clean.”

27 It came about the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”

28 Jonathan then answered Saul, “aDavid earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem,

29 for he said, ‘Please 1let me go, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. And now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?

31 “For 1as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Therefore now, send and bring him to me, for ahe 2must surely die.”

32 But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “aWhy should he be put to death? What has he done?”

33 Then aSaul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; bso Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death.

34 Then Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

35 Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him.

36 He said to his lad, “aRun, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the lad was running, he shot 1an arrow past him.

37 When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “aIs not the arrow beyond you?”

38 And Jonathan called after the lad, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master.

39 But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter.

40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.”

41 When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and abowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept …