1 Samuel 20

1 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? How have I sinned against your father, that he wants to take my life?”

2 “Far from it!” Jonathan replied. “You will not die. Indeed, my father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. So why would he hide this matter from me? This cannot be true!”

3 But David again vowed, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or he will be grieved.’ As surely as the LORD lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”

4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you desire, I will do for you.”

5 So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I am supposed to dine with the king. Instead, let me go and hide in the field until the third evening from now.

6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David urgently requested my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there is an annual sacrifice for his whole clan.’

7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.

8 Therefore show kindness to your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the LORD. If there is iniquity in me, then kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?”

9 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”

10 Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”

11 “Come,” he replied, “let us go out to the field.” So the two of them went out into the field,

12 and Jonathan said, “By the LORD, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?

13 But if my father intends to bring evil on you, then may the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if I do not tell you and send you on your way in safety. May the LORD be with you, just as He has been with my father.

14 And as long as I live, treat me with the LORD’s loving devotion, that I may not die,

15 and do not ever cut off your loving devotion from my household—not even when the LORD cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD hold David’s enemies accountable.”

17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his vow out of love for him, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.

18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.

19 When you have stayed three days, hurry down to the place you hid on the day this trouble began, and remain beside the stone Ezel.

20 I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I were aiming at a target.

21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them,’ then come, because as surely 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 you must go, for the LORD has sent you away.

23 And as for the matter you and I have discussed, the LORD is a witness between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat.

25 He sat in his usual place by the wall, opposite Jonathan and beside Abner, but David’s place was empty.

26 Saul said nothing that day because he thought, “Something has happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.”

27 But on the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal either yesterday or today?”

28 Jonathan answered, “David urgently requested my permission to go to Bethlehem,

29 saying, ‘Please let me go, because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send for him and bring him to me, for he must surely die!”

32 “Why must he be put to death?” Jonathan replied. “What has he done?”

33 Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David.

34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the month, for he was grieved by his father’s shameful treatment of David.

35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a small boy was with him.

36 He said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” And as the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.

37 When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called to him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond you?”

38 Then Jonathan cried out, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not delay!” So the boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master.

39 But the boy did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.

40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the boy and said, “Go, take it back to the city.”

41 When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.

42 And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.

1 ¶ And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, 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 I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly [as] the LORD liveth, and [as] thy 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 new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I 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 to Bethlehem his city: for [there is] a yearly 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 evil is determined by him.

8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if 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 The 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 the 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] thou 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], Let the LORD even require [it] at the hand of David's enemies.

17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 Then Jonathan said to David, To 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 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 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; [as] 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] the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD [be] between thee and me for ever.

24 ¶ So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.

25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, [even] upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.

26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he [is] not clean; surely he [is] not clean.

27 And it came to pass on the morrow, [which was] the second [day] of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?

28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked [leave] of me [to go] to Bethlehem:

29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me [to be there]: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.

30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious [woman], do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?

31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?

33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.

34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.

35 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.

36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. [And] as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.

37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, [Is] not the arrow beyond thee?

38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.

39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.

40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry [them] to the city.

41 [And] as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of [a place] toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.

42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.

1 And David fled from Naioth unto Ramah: and David came and spake before Jonathan, saying, What have I done? What have I transgressed? What have I sinned against thy father, that he should seek my life?

2 And he said unto him, Far be it from thee; thou shalt not die. Behold, my Father doeth nothing, great or small, that he revealeth not unto mine ears: why then should my Father hide these things from me? It will not be so.

3 And David sware again, saying, Thy father knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes: therefore he will think, Jonathan shall not know these things, lest he be grieved. Verily the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

4 And Jonathan said unto David, I will do unto thee according to the desire of thine heart.

5 And David said unto him, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, when I shall sit at meat with the king: let me therefore hide myself in the field until the even of the third day.

6 And if thy father inquire of me, say, David beseeched me that he would run to Bethlehem, to his own city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there unto all the family.

7 If he say, It is good, it is well with thy servant. But if he be angry, thou shalt know that evil is determined in him.

8 Now therefore do thou mercy unto thy servant: for thou hast made a covenant with me thy servant in the LORD. But if there be any iniquity in me, kill me: for why wouldest thou bring me unto thy father?

9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from me, that I should know that evil was determined by my father to come upon thee, and that I should not tell it thee.

10 And David said, Who will tell me, if thy father answer thee a hard thing?

11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went both of them out into the field,

12 And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, if I search my father to morrow, and the third day, that it be well with David, and send not unto thee, and shew it not in thine ears.

13 Then let the LORD Jonathan do this, and that. And if it please my father to do evil against thee, I will shew it also in thine ears, and let thee go in peace. And the LORD be with thee, as he was with my father.

14 If I do it not, do not the mercy of the LORD upon me, because I live, neither if I die.

15 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD shall cut off the enemies of David, every one out of the land, that thou wilt not tear thy mercy from mine house for ever.

16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, The LORD require it out of the hand of David's enemies.

17 And Jonathan went on, and sware unto David, that he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

18 And Jonathan said unto him, To morrow is the new moon, and they shall inquire of thee: for thou shalt be missed when thou sittest.

19 And the third day come down quickly, and go into a place where thou shalt hide thyself in the day of work, and sit down by the stone of Asel,

20 Then will I shoot three arrows at his side, as I shot at the sure time.

21 And, behold, I will send the lad: Go, seek the arrows. And if I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows lie behind thee hither; go and fetch them: come, for there is peace, and no hurt, as the LORD liveth.

22 And if I say unto the young man, Behold, the arrows lie before thee thither: go thy way, for the LORD hath let thee go.

23 And whatsoever thou and I have spoken together, the LORD is between me and thee for ever.

24 And David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon was come, the king sat down to meat.

25 And when the king was set in his place, as he was set before, against the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side. And David was missed in his place.

26 And Saul spake nothing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, that he is not clean.

27 And it came to pass on the second day of the new moon, when David was missed in his place, that Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Why is not the son of Jesse come to the table, either yesterday or to day?

28 And Jonathan said unto Saul, He besought me that he would go to Bethlehem,

29 And he said, Let me go, for our family hath sacrifices to offer in the city, and my brother hath commanded me himself: now therefore if I have found grace in thine eyes, I will go away, and see my brethren. Therefore he came not to the king's table.

30 And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou rebellious wicked man! I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to be a reproach unto thee and to thy wicked mother.

31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the earth, thou shalt not stand, neither shall thy kingdom. Send therefore, and bring him to me; for he must die.

32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Why should he die? What hath he done?

33 And Saul shot the spear at him, and speared him. And Jonathan perceived that it was fully determined with his father to slay David.

34 And he arose from the table in fierce wrath, and did eat no bread the next day of the new moon: for he was grieved for David, because his father condemned him so.

35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field, whither he had appointed David, and a little lad with him.

36 And said unto the lad: Run, and find me the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow at him.

37 And when the lad came to the place whither Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called after him, and said, The arrow lieth thither before thee.

38 And called after him again: Make haste, and stand not still. And the lad of Jonathan gathered up the arrows, and brought them unto his lord.

39 And the lad knew not: but Jonathan and David knew the matter.

40 And Jonathan gave his weapon unto his lad, and said unto him, Go and carry it into the city.

41 And when the lad was come in, David arose out of the place about noon, and fell on his face to the ground, and worshipped three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another; but David most of all.

42 And Jonathan said unto David, Go in peace. That which we both have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, shall stand for ever.

43 And Jonathan arose, and came into the city.