1 Samuel 20
20
David and Jonathan
1David was in Naioth at Ramah. He ran away from there to where Jonathan was. He asked him, “What have I done? What crime have I committed? I haven’t done anything to harm your father. So why is he trying to kill me?”
2“That will never happen!” Jonathan replied. “You aren’t going to die! My father doesn’t do anything at all without letting me know. So why would he hide this from me? He isn’t going to kill you!”
3But David strongly disagreed. He said, “Your father knows very well that you are pleased with me. He has said to himself, ‘I don’t want Jonathan to know I’m planning to kill David. If he finds out, he’ll be very sad.’ But I’m very close to being killed. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.”
4Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do anything you want me to do for you.”
5So David said, “Tomorrow is the time for the New Moon feast. I’m supposed to eat with the king. But let me go and hide in the field. I’ll stay there until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6Your father might miss me. If he does, then tell him, ‘David begged me to let him hurry home to Bethlehem. A yearly sacrifice is being offered there for his whole family group.’ 7Your father might say, ‘That’s all right.’ If he does, it will mean I’m safe. But he might become very angry. If he does, you can be sure he’s made up his mind to harm me. 8Please be kind to me. You have made a covenant with me in front of the Lord. If I’m guilty, kill me yourself! Don’t hand me over to your father!”
9“I would never do that!” Jonathan said. “Suppose I had even the smallest clue that my father had made up his mind to harm you. Then I would tell you.”
10David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you in a mean way?”
11“Come on,” Jonathan said. “Let’s go out to the field.” So they went there together.
12Then Jonathan spoke to David. He said, “I promise you that I’ll find out what my father is planning to do. I’ll find out by this time the day after tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness. Suppose my father has kind feelings toward you. Then I’ll send you a message and let you know. 13But suppose he wants to harm you. And I don’t let you know about it. Suppose I don’t help you get away in peace. Then may the Lord punish me greatly. May he be with you, just as he has been with my father. 14But always be kind to me, just as the Lord is. Be kind to me as long as I live. Then I won’t be killed. 15And never stop being kind to my family. Don’t stop even when the Lord has cut off every one of your enemies from the face of the earth.”
16So Jonathan made a covenant of friendship with David and his family. He said, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies responsible for what they’ve done.” 17Jonathan had David promise his friendship again because he loved him. In fact, Jonathan loved David just as he loved himself.
18Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the time for the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat at the table will be empty. 19Go to the place where you hid when all this trouble began. Go there the day after tomorrow, when evening is approaching. There’s a stone out there called Ezel. 20Wait by it. I’ll shoot three arrows to one side of the stone. I’ll pretend I’m practicing my shooting. 21Then I’ll send a boy out there. I’ll tell him, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ Suppose I say to him, ‘The arrows are on this side of you. Bring them here.’ Then come. That will mean you are safe. You won’t be in any danger. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. 22But suppose I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are far beyond you.’ Then go. That will mean the Lord is sending you away. 23And remember what we talked about. Remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
24So David hid in the field. When the time for the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat in his usual place by the wall. Jonathan sat across from him. Abner sat next to Saul. But David’s place was empty. 26Saul didn’t say anything that day. He said to himself, “Something must have happened to David to make him ‘unclean.’ That must be why he isn’t here.” 27But the next day, David’s place was empty again. It was the second day of the month. Finally, Saul spoke to his son Jonathan. He said, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal? He hasn’t been here yesterday or today.”
28Jonathan replied, “David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go. Our family is offering a sacrifice in the town. My brother has ordered me to be there. Are you pleased with me? If you are, let me go and see my brothers.’ That’s why he hasn’t come to eat at your table.”
30Saul became very angry with Jonathan. He said to him, “You are an evil son. You have refused to obey me. I know that you are on the side of Jesse’s son. You should be ashamed of that. And your mother should be ashamed of having a son like you. 31You will never be king as long as Jesse’s son lives on this earth. And you will never have a kingdom either. So send someone to bring the son of Jesse to me. He must die!”
32“Why do you want to put him to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?” 33But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father wanted to kill David.
34So Jonathan got up from the table. He was very angry. On that second day of the feast, he refused to eat. He was very sad that his father was treating David so badly.
35The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David. He took a young boy with him. 36He said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow far beyond him. 37The boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen. Then Jonathan shouted to him, “The arrow went far beyond you, didn’t it?” 38He continued, “Hurry up! Run fast! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39The boy didn’t know what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy. He told him, “Go back to town. Take the weapons with you.”
41After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone. He bowed down in front of Jonathan with his face to the ground. He did it three times. Then they kissed each other and cried. But David cried more than Jonathan did.
42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. In the name of the Lord we’ve promised to be friends. We have said, ‘The Lord is a witness between you and me. He’s a witness between your children and my children forever.’ ” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
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1 Samuel 20: NIrV
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1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Helps David Escape
1David escaped from Prophets Village. Then he ran to see Jonathan and asked, “Why does your father Saul want to kill me? What have I done wrong?”
2“My father can't be trying to kill you! He never does anything without telling me about it. Why would he hide this from me? It can't be true!”
3“Jonathan, I swear it's true! But your father knows how much you like me, and he didn't want to break your heart. That's why he didn't tell you. I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I'm only one step ahead of death.”
4Then Jonathan said, “Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.”
5 #
Nu 28.11. David answered:
Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,#20.5 New Moon Festival: The first day of the month, when Israelites offered special sacrifices to the Lord and had special sacred meals. and I'm supposed to eat dinner with your father. But instead, I'll hide in a field until the evening of the next day. 6If Saul wonders where I am, tell him, “David asked me to let him go to his hometown of Bethlehem, so he could take part in a sacrifice his family makes there every year.”
7If your father says it's all right, then I'm safe. But if he gets angry, you'll know he wants to harm me. 8Be kind to me. After all, it was your idea to promise the Lord that we would always be loyal friends. If I've done anything wrong, kill me yourself, but don't hand me over to your father.
9“Don't worry,” Jonathan said. “If I find out that my father wants to kill you, I'll certainly let you know.”
10“How will you do that?” David asked.
11“Let's go out to this field, and I'll tell you,” Jonathan answered.
When they got there, 12Jonathan said:
I swear by the Lord God of Israel, that two days from now I'll know what my father is planning. Of course I'll let you know if he's friendly toward you. 13But if he wants to harm you, I promise to tell you and help you escape. And I ask the Lord to punish me severely if I don't keep my promise.
I pray that the Lord will bless you, just as he used to bless my father. 14-15#2 S 9.1. Someday the Lord will wipe out all of your enemies. Then if I'm still alive, please be as kind to me as the Lord has been. But if I'm dead, be kind to my family.
16Jonathan and David made an agreement that even David's descendants would have to keep.#20.16 Jonathan … keep: Or, continuing Jonathan's statement to David, “You and your descendants must not kill off my descendants.” Then Jonathan said, “I pray that the Lord will take revenge on your descendants if they break our promise.”#20.16 I pray … promise: Or “I pray that the Lord take revenge on you if you break our promise!”
17Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself, so he asked David to promise once more that he would be a loyal friend. 18After this Jonathan said:
Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, and people will wonder where you are, because your place at the table will be empty. 19By the day after tomorrow, everyone will think you've been gone a long time.#20.19 By … time: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. Then go to the place where you hid before and stay beside Going-Away Rock.#20.19 Going-Away Rock: Or “Ezel Rock”; one ancient translation “that mound” (see 20.41). 20I'll shoot three arrows at a target off to the side of the rock, 21and send my servant to find the arrows.
You'll know if it's safe to come out by what I tell him. If it is safe, I swear by the living Lord that I'll say, “The arrows are on this side of you! Pick them up!” 22But if it isn't safe, I'll say to the boy, “The arrows are farther away!” This will mean that the Lord wants you to leave, and you must go. 23But he will always watch us to make sure that we keep the promise we made to each other.
24So David hid there in the field.
During the New Moon Festival, Saul sat down to eat 25by the wall, just as he always did. Jonathan sat across from him,#20.25 sat … him: One ancient translation; Hebrew “stood up.” and Abner sat next to him. But David's place was empty. 26Saul didn't say anything that day, because he was thinking, “Something must have happened to make David unfit to be at the Festival.#20.26 unfit … Festival: During the New Moon Festival a sacred meal was served that could only be eaten by people who were properly prepared. Some of the things that could make a person unfit are listed in Leviticus 7.20,21; 15.2,31; 22.4-8; Deuteronomy 23.10,11. Yes, something must have happened.”
27The day after the New Moon Festival, when David's place was still empty, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn't that son of Jesse come to eat with us? He wasn't here yesterday, and he still isn't here today!”
28-29Jonathan answered, “The reason David hasn't come to eat with you is that he begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. He said, ‘Please let me go. My family is offering a sacrifice, and my brother told me I have to be there. Do me this favor and let me slip away to see my brothers.’ ”
30Saul was furious with Jonathan and yelled, “You're no son of mine, you traitor! I know you've chosen to be loyal to that son of Jesse. You should be ashamed of yourself! And your own mother should be ashamed that you were ever born. 31You'll never be safe, and your kingdom will be in danger as long as that son of Jesse is alive. Turn him over to me now! He deserves to die!”
32“Why do you want to kill David?” Jonathan asked. “What has he done?”
33Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. Then Jonathan was sure that his father really did want to kill David. 34Jonathan was angry and hurt that his father had insulted David#20.34 insulted David: Or “insulted him” (that is, Jonathan). so terribly. He got up, left the table, and didn't eat anything all that day.
35In the morning, Jonathan went out to the field to meet David. He took a servant boy along 36and told him, “When I shoot the arrows, you run and find them for me.”
The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow so that it would go beyond him. 37When the boy got near the place where the arrow had landed, Jonathan shouted, “Isn't the arrow on past you?” 38Jonathan shouted to him again, “Hurry up! Don't stop!”
The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to Jonathan, 39but he had no idea about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Take these back into town.”
41After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the mound#20.41 the mound: One ancient translation; Hebrew “from the south side.” and bowed very low three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed#20.41 kissed: A common way of greeting or saying goodbye in biblical times (see Mark 14.44). each other and cried, but David cried louder. 42Jonathan said, “Take care of yourself. And remember, we each have asked the Lord to watch and make sure that we and our descendants keep our promise forever.”
David left and Jonathan went back to town.
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