1 Samuel 20
20
1And 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? 2And 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. 3And 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. 4Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. 5And 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. 6If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7If 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. 8Therefore 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? 9And 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? 10Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
11And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12And 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; 13the 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. 14And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not: 15but 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. 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
17And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19And 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. 20And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. 21And, 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. 22But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away. 23And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
24So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat. 25And 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. 26Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean. 27And 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? 28And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Beth-lehem: 29and 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.
30Then 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? 31For 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. 32And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? 33And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. 34So 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.
35And 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. 36And 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. 37And 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? 38And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 39But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 41And 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. 42And 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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1 Samuel 20: KJV
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Rights in the Authorized (King James) Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Published by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
Learn More About King James VersionShemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 20
20
1And Dawiḏ fled from Nawith in Ramah, and went and said to Yehonathan, “What have I done? What is my crookedness, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
2And Yehonathan said to him, “Far be it! You are not going to die! See, my father does no big matter nor small matter without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this matter from me? It is not so!”
3But Dawiḏ swore again, and said, “Your father knows well that I have found favour in your eyes, and he says, ‘Do not let Yehonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as יהוה lives and as your being lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
4And Yehonathan said to Dawiḏ, “Whatever your desire is, I do it for you.”
5And Dawiḏ said to Yehonathan, “See, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit with the sovereign to eat. But let me go, and I shall hide in the field until the third day at evening.
6“If your father misses me at all, then you shall say, ‘Dawiḏ earnestly asked my permission to run over to Bĕyth Leḥem, his city, for a yearly slaughtering is made there for all the clan.’
7“If he says thus, ‘It is well,’ your servant is safe. But if he is very displeased, then know that he has resolved to do evil.
8“And you shall show loving-commitment to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of יהוה with you. And if there is crookedness in me, put me to death yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
9And Yehonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew with certainty that my father has resolved that evil is to come upon you, then would I not make it known to you?”
10And Dawiḏ said to Yehonathan, “Who would make it known to me, or what if your father answers you sharply?”
11And Yehonathan said to Dawiḏ, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” And they both went out into the field.
12And Yehonathan said to Dawiḏ, “יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ĕl be witness! When I search out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and see if there is good toward Dawiḏ, and I do not send to you or disclose it to you,
13so let יהוה do so and much more to Yehonathan. And if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I shall disclose it to you and send you away, and you shall go in peace. And יהוה be with you as He has been with my father.
14“But show me the loving-commitment of יהוה, not only while I still live, so that I do not die,
15and do not cut off your loving-commitment from my house forever, no, not when יהוה has cut off every one of the enemies of Dawiḏ from the face of the earth.”
16And Yehonathan made a covenant with the house of Dawiḏ, saying, “יהוה shall require it at the hand of the enemies of Dawiḏ.”
17And Yehonathan again made Dawiḏ swear, because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own being.
18So Yehonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you shall be missed, because your seat shall be empty.
19“And on the third day, go down quickly and you shall come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed, and shall remain by the stone Ětsel.
20“And let me shoot three arrows to the side of it as though shooting at a target,
21and see, I shall send the youth, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them and come,’ then, as יהוה lives, there is safety for you and no concern.
22“But if I say thus to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ go your way, for יהוה has sent you away.
23“And as for the word which you and I have spoken of, see, יהוה is between you and me forever.”
24And Dawiḏ hid in the field. And when the new moon came, the sovereign sat down by the food to eat.
25And the sovereign sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall, with Yehonathan standing, and Aḇnĕr sitting by Sha’ul’s side, but the place of Dawiḏ was empty.
26But Sha’ul spoke not a word that day, for he thought, “It is an accident; he is not clean, for he has not been cleansed.”
27And it came to be the next day, the second day of the new moon, that Dawiḏ’s place was empty. And Sha’ul said to Yehonathan his son, “Why has the son of Yishai not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”
28And Yehonathan answered Sha’ul, “Dawiḏ earnestly asked my permission to go to Bĕyth Leḥem.
29“And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our clan has a slaughtering in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favour in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the sovereign’s table.”
30Then the displeasure of Sha’ul burned against Yehonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Yishai to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness?
31“For as long as the son of Yishai lives on the earth, you shall not be established, you and your reign. And now, send and bring him to me, for he is a son of death.”
32And Yehonathan answered Sha’ul his father, and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?”
33At that, Sha’ul hurled a spear at him to smite him. Then Yehonathan knew that his father had resolved to put Dawiḏ to death.
34And Yehonathan rose up from the table in the heat of displeasure, and ate no food the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved for Dawiḏ, because his father put him to shame.
35And it came to be, in the morning, that Yehonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with Dawiḏ, and a small youth was with him.
36And he said to the youth, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the youth ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37And when the youth came to the place where the arrow was which Yehonathan had shot, Yehonathan called out after the youth and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”
38And Yehonathan shouted after the youth, “Make haste, hurry, do not stand still!” And Yehonathan’s youth picked up the arrows and came to his master.
39But the youth knew not a speck. Only Yehonathan and Dawiḏ knew of the matter.
40Then Yehonathan gave his weapons to the youth and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.”
41And as soon as the youth had gone, Dawiḏ rose up from the south side, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another. And they wept together, but Dawiḏ more so.
42And Yehonathan said to Dawiḏ, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the Name of יהוה, saying, ‘יהוה is between you and me, and between your seed and my seed, forever.’ ” Then he arose and left, and Yehonathan went into the city.
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