1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Helps David
1David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”
2“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “You’re not going to die. He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!”
3Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”
4“Tell me what I can do to help you,” Jonathan exclaimed.
5David replied, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I’ve always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. 6If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice. 7If he says, ‘Fine!’ you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me. 8Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend—for we made a solemn pact before the Lord—or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”
9“Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”
10Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
11“Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together. 12Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know. 13But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the Lord strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. 14And may you treat me with the faithful love of the Lord as long as I live. But if I die, 15treat my family with this faithful love, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth.”
16So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David,#20:16 Hebrew with the house of David. saying, “May the Lord destroy all your enemies!” 17And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
18Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty. 19The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid before, and wait there by the stone pile.#20:19 Hebrew the stone Ezel. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 20I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target. 21Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the Lord lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble. 22But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the Lord is sending you away. 23And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
24So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat at his usual place against the wall, with Jonathan sitting opposite him#20:25 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads with Jonathan standing. and Abner beside him. But David’s place was empty. 26Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, “Something must have made David ceremonially unclean.” 27But when David’s place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse been here for the meal either yesterday or today?”
28Jonathan replied, “David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Please let me go, for we are having a family sacrifice. My brother demanded that I be there. So please let me get away to see my brothers.’ That’s why he isn’t here at the king’s table.”
30Saul boiled with rage at Jonathan. “You stupid son of a whore!”#20:30 Hebrew You son of a perverse and rebellious woman. he swore at him. “Do you think I don’t know that you want him to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother? 31As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”
32“But why should he be put to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?” 33Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.
34Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
35The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows. 36“Start running,” he told the boy, “so you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, “The arrow is still ahead of you. 38Hurry, hurry, don’t wait.” So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master. 39He, of course, suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David understood the signal. 40Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to town.
41As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile.#20:41 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads near the south edge. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David.
42At last Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord’s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever.” Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town.#20:42 This sentence is numbered 21:1 in Hebrew text.
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1 Samuel 20: NLT
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1 Samuel 20
20
David Consults with Jonathan. 1David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went to Jonathan. “What have I done?” he asked him. “What crime or what offense does your father hold against me that he seeks my life?”#1 Sm 19:1–7, 11–17; 21:11; 27:4; Gn 31:36. 2Jonathan answered him: “Heaven forbid that you should die! My father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. Why, then, should my father conceal this from me? It cannot be true!” 3But David replied: “Your father is well aware that I am favored with your friendship, so he has decided, ‘Jonathan must not know about this or he will be grieved.’ Nevertheless, as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.” 4Jonathan then said to David, “I will do whatever you say.” 5David answered: “Tomorrow is the new moon, when I should in fact dine with the king. Let me go and hide in the open country until evening.#Nm 10:10; 28:11–15; Ezr 3:5; Neh 10:34. 6If it turns out that your father misses me, say, ‘David urged me to let him go on short notice to his city Bethlehem, because his whole clan is holding its seasonal sacrifice there.’#1 Sm 17:12. 7If he says, ‘Very well,’ your servant is safe. But if he becomes quite angry, you can be sure he has planned some harm. 8#1 Sm 18:3; 23:17–18. Do this kindness for your servant because of the Lord’s covenant into which you brought us: if I am guilty, kill me yourself! Why should you give me up to your father?” 9But Jonathan answered: “Not I! If ever I find out that my father is determined to harm you, I will certainly let you know.” 10David then asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh answer?”
Mutual Agreement. 11Jonathan replied to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” When they were out in the open country together, 12Jonathan said to David: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, I will sound out my father about this time tomorrow. Whether he is well disposed toward David or not, I will inform you. 13#1 Sm 10:7; 17:37; 18:12, 14; 24:22–23; 2 Sm 9:1–13; 21:7. Should it please my father to bring any harm upon you, may the Lord do thus to Jonathan and more,#See note on 3:17. if I do not inform you of it and send you on your way in peace. May the Lord be with you even as he was with my father. 14Only this: if I am still alive, may you show me the kindness of the Lord. But if I die, 15never cut off your kindness from my house. And when the Lord cuts off all the enemies of David from the face of the land, 16the name of Jonathan must never be cut off from the family of David, or the Lord will make you answer for it.” 17And in his love for David, Jonathan renewed his oath to him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
18Jonathan then said to him: “Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, since your place will be vacant. 19On the third day you will be missed all the more. Go to the spot where you hid on the other occasion and wait near the mound there.#1 Sm 19:1–7. 20On the third day of the month I will shoot arrows to the side of it, as though aiming at a target. 21I will then send my attendant to recover the arrows. If in fact I say to him, ‘Look, the arrow is this side of you; pick it up,’ come, for you are safe. As the Lord lives, there will be nothing to fear. 22But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrow is beyond you,’ go, for the Lord sends you away. 23However, in the matter which you and I have discussed, the Lord shall be between you and me forever.” 24So David hid in the open country.
David’s Absence. On the day of the new moon, when the king sat down at the feast to dine, 25he took his usual place against the wall. Jonathan sat facing him, while Abner sat at the king’s side. David’s place was vacant. 26#1 Sm 16:5; Lv 7:20–21; 15:1–3. Saul, however, said nothing that day, for he thought, “He must have become unclean by accident.”#The meal on the first day of the month would have had religious overtones, and a ritual impurity (Lv 15:16; Dt 23:10–12) would have barred David from sharing in it. 27On the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to table yesterday or today?” 28Jonathan explained to Saul: “David pleaded with me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29‘Please let me go,’ he begged, ‘for we are having a clan sacrifice in our city, and my brothers insist on my presence. Now then, if you think well of me, give me leave to visit my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.” 30But Saul grew angry with Jonathan and said to him: “Son of a rebellious woman, do I not know that, to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness, you are the companion of Jesse’s son? 31For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you cannot make good your claim to the kingship!#Your claim to the kingship: Saul admits his intention that Jonathan should succeed him and that David is a threat to his lineage (cf. 23:17). However Jonathan has already acknowledged David’s kingship (18:3–4) and his own subservient role (20:13–16). Now send for him, and bring him to me, for he must die.”#2 Sm 12:5. 32But Jonathan argued with his father Saul: “Why should he die? What has he done?” 33At this Saul brandished his spear to strike him, and thus Jonathan learned that his father was determined to kill David.#1 Sm 18:11. 34Jonathan sprang up from the table in a rage and ate nothing that second day of the month, because he was grieved on David’s account, and because his father had humiliated him.
Jonathan’s Farewell. 35The next morning Jonathan, accompanied by a young boy, went out into the field for his appointment with David. 36There he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows.” And as the boy ran, he shot an arrow past him. 37When the boy made for the spot where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called after him, “The arrow is farther on!” 38Again he called to the boy, “Hurry, be quick, don’t delay!” Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and brought it to his master. 39The boy suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David knew what was meant. 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.” 41When the boy had gone, David rose from beside the mound and fell on his face to the ground three times in homage. They kissed each other and wept aloud together. 42#2 Sm 9:1; 21:7. At length Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, in keeping with what the two of us have sworn by the name of the Lord: ‘The Lord shall be between you and me, and between your offspring and mine forever.’”
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