1 Samuel 20:1–23

And David fled from Naioth in aRamah, 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? 2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will †shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that bI have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as cthe Lord liveth, and as dthy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. 4 Then said Jonathan unto David, ||Whatsoever thy soul †desireth, I will even do it for thee. 5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the enew moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that fI may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. 6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run gto Beth-lehem his city: for there is a hyearly ||sacrifice there for all the family. 7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that ievil is determined by him. 8 Therefore thou shalt jdeal kindly with thy servant; for kthou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, lif there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? 9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? 10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly? 11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12 And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have †sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and †shew it thee; 13 mThe Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will †shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and nthe Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not: 15 But also othou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth. 16 So Jonathan †made a covenant with the house of David, saying, pLet the Lord even require it at the hand of David’s enemies. 17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, ||because he loved him: qfor he loved him as he loved his own soul. 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.