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1 Samuel 20:18–23

18 Then Jonathan said to David, rTo morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down ||quickly, and come to sthe place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone ||Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a tmark. 21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; uas the Lord liveth. 22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the Lord hath sent thee away. 23 And as touching vthe matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me for ever.

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1 Samuel 20:18–23 — The New International Version (NIV)

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — English Standard Version (ESV)

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — New Living Translation (NLT)

18 Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile. 20 I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the Lord lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. 22 But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the Lord is sending you away. 23 And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. 20 Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; 21 and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. 22 But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — New Century Version (NCV)

18 Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. Your seat will be empty, so my father will miss you. 19 On the third day go to the place where you hid when this trouble began. Wait by the rock Ezel. 20 On the third day I will shoot three arrows to the side of the rock as if I am shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy to find the arrows. If I say to him, ‘The arrows are near you; bring them here,’ you may come out of hiding. You are safe. As the Lord lives, there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ you must go, because the Lord is sending you away. 23 Remember what we talked about. The Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — American Standard Version (ASV)

18 Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19 And 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. 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And, 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. 22 But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away. 23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between thee and me for ever.

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

18 And Jonathan said to him, To-morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty; 19 but on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the business, and abide by the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come, for there is peace for thee, and it is nothing; as Jehovah liveth. 22 But if I say thus to the youth: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, —go thy way; for Jehovah sends thee away. 23 And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between me and thee for ever.

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

18 “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,” Jonathan told him, “and you will be missed when your seat is empty. 19 The day after tomorrow you will be missed even more.So go to the place where you hid on that other occasion, and stay by the rock. 20 I will shoot three arrows from beside it toward a target. 21 Then I will send out a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ Now, if I tell the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are next to you; get them,’ then come ⸤back with me⸥. You will be safe, and there will be no trouble. I swear it, as the Lord lives. 22 But if I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are next to you,’ then go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 We have made a promise to each other, and the Lord is ⸤a witness⸥ between you and me forever.” 

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the New Moon; you’ll be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 The following day hurry down and go to the place where you hid on the day this incident began and stay beside the rock Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows beside it as if I’m aiming at a target. 21 Then I will send the young man and say, ‘Go and find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you—get them,’ then come, because as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no problem. 22 But if I say this to the youth: ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you!’ then go, for the Lord is sending you away. 23 As for the matter you and I have spoken about, the Lord will be a witness between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be empty. 19 On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the place where you hid yourself earlier, and remain beside the stone there. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 Then I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, collect them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go; for the Lord has sent you away. 23 As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will stay empty. 19 On the third day you must go down quickly and go to the place where you hid yourself on the day all this started and remain beside the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side as if I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send word to my servant, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ If I clearly say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring it,’ then come, for it means peace for you. And there is no problem, as Yahweh lives. 22 But if I say this to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for Yahweh has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter about which you and I spoke, look, Yahweh is between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the time for the New Moon Feast. You will be missed, because your seat at the table will be empty. 19 Go to the place where you hid when all of this trouble began. Go there the day after tomorrow, when evening is approaching. There’s a stone out there called Ezel. 20 Wait by it.

“I’ll shoot three arrows to one side of the stone. I’ll pretend I’m practicing my shooting. 21 Then I’ll send a boy out there. I’ll tell him, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ Suppose I say to him, ‘The arrows are on this side of you. Bring them here.’ Then come. That will mean you are safe. You won’t be in any danger. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. 22 But suppose I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are far beyond you.’ Then go. That will mean the Lord is sending you away.

23 “And remember what we talked about. Remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”

1 Samuel 20:18–23 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow 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 no harm, as the Lord lives.

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

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


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