1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Helps David
1Then David ran away from Naioth in Ramah. He went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How did I sin against your father? Why is he trying to kill me?”
2Jonathan answered, “No! You won’t die! See, my father doesn’t do anything great or small without first telling me. Why would he keep this from me? It’s not true!”
3But David took an oath, saying, “Your father knows very well that you like me. He says to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it, or he will tell David.’ As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I am only a step away from death!”
4Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do anything you want me to do.”
5So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon festival. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the third evening. 6If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David begged me to let him go to his hometown of Bethlehem. Every year at this time his family group offers a sacrifice.’ 7If your father says, ‘Fine,’ I am safe. But if he becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me. 8Jonathan, be loyal to me, your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”
9Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to hurt you, I will warn you!”
10David asked, “Who will let me know if your father answers you unkindly?”
11Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So the two of them went out into the field.
12Jonathan said to David, “I promise this before the Lord, the God of Israel: At this same time the day after tomorrow, I will find out how my father feels. If he feels good toward you, I will send word to you and let you know. 13But if my father plans to hurt you, I will let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord punish me terribly if I don’t do this. And may the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14But show me the kindness of the Lord as long as I live so that I may not die. 15You must never stop showing your kindness to my family, even when the Lord has destroyed all your enemies from the earth.”
16So Jonathan made an agreement with David. He said, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies responsible.” 17And Jonathan asked David to repeat his promise of love for him, because he loved David as much as he loved himself.
18Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon festival. Your seat will be empty, so my father will miss you. 19On the third day go to the place where you hid when this trouble began. Wait by the rock Ezel. 20On the third day I will shoot three arrows to the side of the rock as if I am shooting at a target. 21Then I will send a boy to find the arrows. If I say to him, ‘The arrows are near you; bring them here,’ you may come out of hiding. You are safe. As the Lord lives, there is no danger. 22But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ you must go, because the Lord is sending you away. 23Remember what we talked about. The Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
24So David hid in the field. When the New Moon festival came, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat where he always sat, near the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26That day Saul said nothing. He thought, “Maybe something has happened to David so that he is unclean.” 27But the next day was the second day of the month, and David’s place was still empty. So Saul said to Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the feast yesterday or today?”
28Jonathan answered, “David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has ordered me to be there. Now if I am your friend, please let me go to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30Then Saul became very angry with Jonathan. He said, “You son of a wicked, worthless woman! I know you are on the side of David son of Jesse! You bring shame on yourself and on your mother who gave birth to you. 31As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will never be king or have a kingdom. Now send for David and bring him to me. He must die!”
32Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What wrong has he done?” 33Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, trying to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father really wanted to kill David. 34Jonathan was very angry and left the table. That second day of the month he refused to eat. He was ashamed of his father and upset over David.
35The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. He had a young boy with him. 36Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” When he ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37The boy ran to the place where Jonathan’s arrow fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrow is beyond you!” 38Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to his master. 39(The boy knew nothing about what this meant; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Go back to town.”
41When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the rock. He bowed facedown on the ground before Jonathan three times. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the most.
42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have promised by the Lord that we will be friends. We said, ‘The Lord will be a witness between you and me, and between our descendants always.’ ” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to town.
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1 Samuel 20: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Protects David
1David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done?#1Sm 24:9 What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my life?”
2Jonathan said to him, “No, you won’t die. Listen, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without telling me. So why would he hide this matter from me? This can’t be true.”
3But David said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor with you. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.’” David also swore, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”#1Sm 25:26; 2Kg 2:6
4Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
5So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon,#Nm 10:10; 28:11–15; Am 8:5 and I’m supposed to sit down and eat with the king.#1Sm 20:24,27 Instead, let me go, and I’ll hide in the countryside for the next two nights.#20:5 Lit countryside until the third night#1Sm 19:2 6If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David urgently requested my permission to go quickly to his hometown, Bethlehem,#1Sm 17:58 for an annual sacrifice#Dt 12:5 there involving the whole clan.’ 7If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he becomes angry, you will know he has evil intentions. 8Deal kindly with#20:8 Or Show loyalty to your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the Lord.#1Sm 18:3; 20:16; 23:18 If I have done anything wrong,#2Sm 14:32 then kill me yourself; why take me to your father?”
9“No!” Jonathan responded. “If I ever find out my father has evil intentions against you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”
10So David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
11He answered David, “Come on, let’s go out to the countryside.” So both of them went out to the countryside. 12“By the Lord, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If I find out that he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you? 13If my father intends to bring evil on you, may the Lord punish Jonathan and do so severely#Ru 1:17; 1Sm 3:17 if I do not tell you and send you away so you may leave safely. May the Lord be with you,#1Sm 18:12 just as he was with my father. 14If I continue to live, show me kindness#20:14 Or loyalty, also in v. 15 from the Lord, but if I die, 15don’t ever withdraw your kindness from my household — not even when the Lord cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”#2Sm 9:1 16Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,#1Sm 18:3; 23:18 saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.”#20:16 Lit Lord require it from the hand of David’s enemies#Dt 23:21 17Jonathan once again swore to David#20:17 LXX; MT reads Jonathan once again made David swear in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.#1Sm 18:1
18Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the New Moon;#Nm 10:10 you’ll be missed because your seat will be empty. 19The following day hurry down and go to the place where you hid on the day this incident began and stay beside the rock Ezel. 20I will shoot three arrows beside it as if I’m aiming at a target. 21Then I will send a servant and say, ‘Go and find the arrows! ’ Now, if I expressly say to the servant, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you — get them,’ then come, because as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no problem. 22But if I say this to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you! ’ #1Sm 20:37 then go, for the Lord is sending you away. 23As for the matter you and I have spoken about,#1Sm 20:14–15 the Lord will be a witness#20:23 LXX; MT omits a witness between you and me forever.”#Gn 31:49,53 24So David hid in the countryside.
At the New Moon, the king sat down to eat the meal. 25He sat at his usual place on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat facing him#20:25 Text emended; MT reads Jonathan got up and Abner took his place beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.#1Sm 20:18 26Saul did not say anything that day because he thought, “Something unexpected has happened; he must be ceremonially unclean — yes, that’s it, he is unclean.”#Lv 7:20–21; Nm 10:10
27However, the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
28Jonathan answered, “David asked for my permission to go to Bethlehem.#1Sm 20:6 29He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”
30Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother?#20:30 Lit your mother’s nakedness 31Every day Jesse’s son lives on earth you and your kingship are not secure. Now send for him and bring him to me — he must die!” #2Sm 12:5
32Jonathan answered his father back, “Why is he to be killed? What has he done?” #1Sm 19:5
33Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him,#1Sm 18:11; 19:10 so he knew that his father was determined to kill David.#1Sm 20:7 34He got up from the table fiercely angry and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
35In the morning Jonathan went out to the countryside for the appointed meeting with David. A young servant was with him. 36He said to the servant, “Run and find the arrows I’m shooting.”#1Sm 20:20–21 As the servant ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37He came to the location of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, but Jonathan called to him and said, “The arrow is beyond you, isn’t it?” #1Sm 20:22 38Then Jonathan called to him, “Hurry up and don’t stop!” Jonathan’s servant picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39He did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement. 40Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him and said, “Go, take it back to the city.”
41When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times.#Gn 42:6 Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.#1Sm 18:3
42Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the Lord when we said, ‘The Lord will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.’”#1Sm 20:15–23 Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
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