^20:8You must be loyal¹⁵ to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name.¹⁶ If I am guilty,¹⁷ you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”

^20:9Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” ^20:10David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” ^20:11Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”

When the two of them had gone out into the field, ^20:12Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness.¹⁸ I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?¹⁹^20:13But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know²⁰ and send word to you so you can go safely on your way.²¹ May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. ^20:14While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! ^20:15Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth ^20:16and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant²² with the house of David.²³^20:17Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.²⁴

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Footnotes

15 Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
16 Heb “for into a covenant of the Lord you have brought your servant with you.”
17 Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
18 The Hebrew text has simply “the Lord God of Israel.” On the basis of the version, many reconstruct the text to read “[is] my witness,” which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if עֵד, ’ed, “witness,” immediately followed ַָדוִד, “David,” in the original text).
19 Heb “and uncover your ear.”
20 Heb “uncover your ear.”
21 Heb “in peace.”
22 Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
23 The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the Lord will seek from the hand of the enemies of David.” The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in ) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15.
24 Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”