⁸Now, be kind to me. After all, you forced me into an agreement with the Lord. If I have committed any crime, kill me yourself. Why bother taking me to your father?”

⁹Jonathan answered, “That’s unthinkable! If I knew for sure that my father had decided to harm you, I would have told you about it.”

¹⁰Then David asked, “Who will tell me whether or not your father gives you a harsh answer?”

¹¹Jonathan said, “Let’s go out into the country.” So they went out into the country.

¹²“As the Lord God of Israel ⸤is my witness⸥,” Jonathan continued, “I’ll find out in the next two or three days how my father feels about you. If he does feel kindly toward you, then I will send someone to tell you. ¹³If my father plans to harm you and I fail to tell you and send you away safely, may the Lord harm me even more. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴But as long as I live, ⸤promise me that you will⸥ show me kindness because of the Lord. And even when I die, ¹⁵never stop being kind to my family. The Lord will wipe each of David’s enemies off the face of the earth. ¹⁶At that time, if Jonathan’s name^ais cut off from David’s family, then may the Lord punish David’s house.”^b

¹⁷Once again Jonathan swore an oath to David because of his love for David. He loved David as much as ⸤he loved⸥ himself.

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Footnotes

a 20:16 Greek; Masoretic Text omits “name.”
b 20:16 Ancient scribal tradition; Masoretic Text “punish David’s enemies.” At times some scribes would alter the text when they thought it was disrespectful.