1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Seeks to Protect David
1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked,#tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.” “What have I done? What is my offense?#tn Heb “What is my guilt?” How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!”
2 Jonathan#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity. said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing#tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”). large or small without making me aware of it.#tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.” Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”
3 Taking an oath, David again#tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.” said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact#tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis. that I have found favor with you, and he has thought,#tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25. ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.”#tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”
5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal.#tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go#tn Heb “to run.” to his city Bethlehem,#map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4. for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’#tn Heb “good.” then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.#tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.” 8 You must be loyal#tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.” to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name.#tn Heb “for into a covenant of the Lord you have brought your servant with you.” If I am guilty,#tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.” you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”
9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”
When the two of them had gone out into the field, 12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness.#tc The Hebrew text has simply “the Lord God of Israel.” On the basis of the Syriac version, many reconstruct the text to read “[is] my witness,” which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if עֵד, ’ed, “witness,” immediately followed ַָדוִד, “David,” in the original text). I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?#tn Heb “and uncover your ear.” 13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know#tn Heb “uncover your ear.” and send word to you so you can go safely on your way.#tn Heb “in peace.” May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant#tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied. with the house of David.#tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the Lord will seek from the hand of the enemies of David.” The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in MT) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15. 17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.#tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.” 18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day#tc Heb “you will do [something] a third time.” The translation assumes an emendation of the verb from שִׁלַּשְׁתָּ (shillashta, “to do a third time”) to שִׁלִּישִׁית (shillishit, “[on the] third [day]”). you should go down quickly#tn Heb “you must go down greatly.” See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom. and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started.#tn Heb “on the day of the deed.” This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2. Stay near the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, “Go and find the arrows.” If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you;#tn Heb “from you and here.” get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. 22 But if I say to the boy, “Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’#tn Heb “from you and onward.” get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!”#tc Heb “the Lord [is] between me and between you forever.” The translation assumes that the original text read עֵד עַד־עוֹלָם (’ed ’ad-’olam), “a witness forever,” with the noun “a witness” accidentally falling out of the text by haplography. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him#tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqam, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיִּקַדֵּם (vayyiqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קדם, qdm). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338. and Abner at his side.#tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.” But David’s place was vacant. 26 However, Saul said nothing about it#tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied. that day, for he thought,#tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Permit me to go,#tn Heb “send me.” for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged#tn Heb “commanded.” me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go#tn Heb “be released [from duty].” to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul became angry with Jonathan#tc Many medieval Hebrew mss include the words “his son” here. and said to him, “You stupid traitor!#tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David. Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 31 For as long as#tn Heb “all the days that.” this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men#tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!”#tn Heb “a son of death.”
32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan#tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity. in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced#tn Heb “knew.” that his father had decided to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.#tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan#tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity. shot the arrow beyond him. 37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to#tn Heb “called after” (also in v. 38). the servant, “Isn’t the arrow further beyond you?” 38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)#tn Heb “knew the matter.” 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the city.”
41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound,#tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here. knelt#tn Heb “fell.” with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
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1 Samuel 20: NET
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1996 - 2007 by Biblical Studies Press, LLC
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, Far from it; thou shalt not die: behold, my father doeth nothing either great or small, but that he discloseth it unto me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father knoweth well that I have found favor in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as Jehovah 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 miss me at all, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Beth-lehem his city; for it is the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be wroth, then know that evil is determined by him. 8Therefore deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee: but 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 should at all know 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 if perchance 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, Jehovah, the God of Israel, be witness: when I have sounded my father about this time to-morrow, or the third day, behold, if there be good toward David, shall I not then send unto thee, and disclose it unto thee? 13Jehovah do so to Jonathan, and more also, should it please my father to do thee evil, if I disclose it not unto thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and Jehovah be with thee, as he hath been with my father. 14And thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the lovingkindness of Jehovah, that I die not; 15but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever; no, not when Jehovah 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, And Jehovah will require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
17And Jonathan caused David to swear again, for the love that he had to him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18Then Jonathan said unto him, To-morrow is the new moon: and thou wilt be missed, because thy seat will be empty. 19And when thou hast stayed three days, 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 the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, and come; for there is peace to thee and no hurt, as Jehovah liveth. 22But if I say thus unto the boy, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way; for Jehovah hath sent thee away. 23And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is 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 food. 25And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul’s side: but David’s place was empty. 26Nevertheless Saul spake not anything 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 after the new moon, which was the second day, 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 favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he is not come unto the king’s table.
30Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame 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 should he be put to death? what hath he done? 33And Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to put David to death. 34So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no food 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 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 anything: only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40And Jonathan gave his weapons 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 Jehovah, saying, Jehovah shall 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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