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?”