1 Samuel 20
1 2
3 4 5
6 7 8
9 10 11
12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19
20 21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28 29
30 31
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.
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