1 Samuel 19–20

19And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should slay David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. ²And Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to slay thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself in the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself: ³and I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and if I see aught, I will tell thee. ⁴And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good: ⁵for he put his life in his hand, and smote the Philistine, and Jehovah wrought a great victory for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice; wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause? ⁶And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As Jehovah liveth, he shall not be put to death. ⁷And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as beforetime.

⁸And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him. ⁹And an evil spirit from Jehovah was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing with his hand. ¹⁰And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the spear; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the spear into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. ¹¹And Saul sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou wilt be slain. ¹²So Michal let David down through the window: and he went, and fled, and escaped. ¹³And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes. ¹⁴And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick. ¹⁵And Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him. ¹⁶And when the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof. ¹⁷And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me thus, and let mine enemy go, so that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

¹⁸Now David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth. ¹⁹And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah. ²⁰And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. ²¹And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²²Then went he also to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah. ²³And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴And he also stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

20And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? ²And he said unto him, Far from it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. ³And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. ⁴Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. ⁵And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. ⁶If thy father miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. ⁷If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him. ⁸Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? ⁹And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for if I should at all know that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? ¹⁰Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me if perchance thy father answer thee roughly? ¹¹And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said unto David, Jehovah, the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee? ¹³Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father. ¹⁴And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not; ¹⁵but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. ¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.

¹⁷And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. ¹⁹And when thou hast stayed three days, thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹And, behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as Jehovah liveth. ²²But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away. ²³And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between thee and me for ever.

²⁴So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food. ²⁵And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul’s side: but David’s place was empty. ²⁶Nevertheless Saul spake not anything that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. ²⁷And it came to pass on the morrow after the new moon, which was the second day, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to-day? ²⁸And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem: ²⁹and he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king’s table.

³⁰Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother’s nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. ³²And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore should he be put to death? what hath he done? ³³And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death. ³⁴So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food the second day of the month; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

³⁵And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. ³⁶And he said unto his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? ³⁸And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. ³⁹But the lad knew not anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. ⁴¹And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one…