1Sam 20
1
And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he
said, What have I done, and what is my fault, and wherein have I sinned before your
father, that he seeks my life?
2
And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from you: you shall not die: behold, my father
will not do any thing great or small Gr. and will not uncover my ear without discovering it to me; and why should my father
hide this matter from me?
This thing is not so.
3
And David answered Jonathan, and said, Your father knows surely that I have found
grace in your sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent:
but as the Lord lives and your soul lives, as I said, the space is filled up between
me and death.
4
And Jonathan said to David, What does your soul desire, and what shall I do for you.
5
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is the new moon, and I shall not on
any account sit down to eat, but you shall let me go, and I will hide in the plain
till the evening.
6
And if your father do in anywise Or, notice me, as present or absent enquire for me, then shall you say, David earnestly asked
leave of me to run to Bethleem
his city, for there is there, a Gr. sacrifice of days; Hebraism yearly sacrifice for all the family.
7
If he shall say thus, Well, —Gr. peace to your servant all is safe for your servant: but if he shall answer harshly to you,
know that evil
is determined by him.
8
And you shall deal mercifully with your servant; for you have brought your servant
into a covenant of the Lord with yourself: and if there is iniquity in your servant,
slay me yourself; but why do you thus bring me to your father?
9
And Jonathan said, That be far from you: for if I surely know that evil is determined
by my father to come upon you, although it should not be against your cities, I will
tell you.
10
And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if your father should answer roughly?
11
And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into
the field.
12
And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound my father
as I have an opportunity, Heb. tyvlvh the third day three several times, and, behold, if good should be determined concerning
David,
and I do not send to you to the field,
13
God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall also report the evil to you, and make
it known to you, and I will let you go; and you shall depart in peace, and the Lord
shall be with you, as he was with my father.
14
And if indeed Gr. I yet being alive I continue to live, then shall you deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
15
you shall not withdraw your mercy from my house for ever: and The meaning of the Heb. is here greatly obscured if you do not,
when the Lord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of
the earth, should it happen that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of
David, then let the Lord seek out the enemies of David.
16
17
And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him whom loved
him.
18
And Jonathan said, To-morrow is the new moon, and you will be enquired for, because
your seat will be observed as vacant.
19
And you shall Gr. act thrice stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shall come to your place where you
may hide yourself in the day of your business, and you shall wait by that A corruption of the Heb. ezel ergab.
20
And I will shoot Gr. with three arrows, aiming them at The Heb. has been turned into a proper name a mark.
21
And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
22
If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow is here, and on this side of you,
take it; then come, for it is well with you, and there is no reason for fear, as the
Lord lives: but if I should say thus to the young man, The arrow is on that side of
you, and beyond; go, for the Lord has sent you away.
23
And as for the word which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is witness between
me and you for ever.
24
So David hides himself in the field, and the new Or, moon month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
25
And he sat upon his seat as Gr. once and once in former times, even on his seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan;
and Abenner
sat on one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty.
26
And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It seems to have fallen out that he
is not clean, because he has not purified himself.
27
And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day of the month, that the place
of David was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae
attended both yesterday and today at the table?
28
And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far
as Bethleem his city;
29
and he said, Let me go, I pray you, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and
my brethren have Gr. given a charge for me sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in your eyes, I will even go over and
see my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king.
30
And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, You son of Lit. deserting in a military sense traitorous damsels!
for do I not know that you are an accomplice with the son of
Jessae to your same, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
31
For Gr. all the days that so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, your kingdom shall not be established:
now then send and take the young man, for he Gr. is a son of death shall surely die.
32
And Jonathan answered Saul, Why Gr. does he die? is he to die? What has he done?
33
And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to slay him: so Jonathan knew that this
evil was determined on by his father to slay David.
34
And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the
second day of the month, for he grieved bitterly for David, because his father determined
on mischief against him.
35
And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field, as he appointed to do for a
signal to David, and a little boy was with him.
36
And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which I shoot: and the boy ran, and
Jonathan shot an arrow, and sent it beyond him.
37
And the boy came to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan
cried out after the lad, and said, The arrow is on that side of you and beyond you.
38
And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan’s
boy gathered up the arrows, and brought the arrows to his master.
39
And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David knew.
40
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the
city.
41
And when the lad went in, then David arose from the See verse 19 argab, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three
times, and they kissed
each other, and wept for each other, for a great while.
42
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and as we have both sworn in the name of
the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be witness between me and you, and between my seed
and your seed for ever—even so let it be. And David arose and departed, and Jonathan
went into the city.