1 Samuel 20
20
David and Jonathan
1David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my offense? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
2And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small that he does not reveal to me. Why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.”
3David vowed # Dt 6:13 again and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight. And he says, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be distressed.’ However, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, # 1Sa 25:26 there is but a step between me and death.”
4Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do it for you.”
5David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon, # Nu 10:10; 28:11 and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I may hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day. 6If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David asked for leave from me that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ # 1Sa 9:12; 17:58 7If he says, ‘Good,’ it will be well for your servant. But if he gets angry, know that evil is determined by him. # 1Sa 25:17; Est 7:7 8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. # 1Sa 18:3; 23:18 But if there is any guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
9Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you, for if I indeed knew that my father had determined evil against you, would I not tell you?”
10David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me? Or what if your father answers you roughly?”
11So Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” And the two of them went out to the field.
12Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is witness. When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or by the third day, and behold, if he is favorable toward David, then will I not send and reveal it to you? 13May the Lord do so to Jonathan and much more. # Ru 1:17 If it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will reveal it you and send you away that you may go in peace. And may the Lord be with you # Jos 1:5 as He has been with my father. 14And if I live, not only will you show me the kindness of the Lord, that I shall not die, 15but you will not cut off your faithfulness from my house forever, even when the Lord has cut off each one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”
16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord require it at the hand of the enemies of David.” # 1Sa 25:22 17Jonathan made David swear again, because he loved him, and he loved him as he loved his own soul. # 1Sa 18:1, 3
18Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, # 1Sa 20:5 and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. # 1Sa 20:25 19When you have stayed three days, you will surely go down and come to the place where you hid yourself on the day this happened, # 1Sa 19:2 and wait there beside the stone Ezel. 20And I will shoot three arrows to its side, as though I shot at a target. 21And behold, I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then come, for it will be safe for you. And as the Lord lives, it is nothing of concern. 22But if I say to the young man, ‘See, the arrows are beyond you,’ # 1Sa 20:37 go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23As for the matter upon which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.” # 1Sa 20:14–15, 42
24So David hid himself in the field. And when the New Moon appeared, the king sat down over food to eat. 25Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on a seat by the wall. Then Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. # 1Sa 20:18 26Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” # Lev 11:24; 15:5 27It happened on the following day, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place remained empty. So Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat food either yesterday or today?”
28And Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave from me to go to Bethlehem. # 1Sa 20:6 29And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city and my brother has commanded me to come. Now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me leave and see my brothers.’ This is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30Then Saul was angry # Pr 21:24 with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse rebellious woman, do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now, send and bring him to me, for he is a dead man.”
32Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” # 1Sa 19:5; Mt 27:23 33So Saul cast a spear at him to strike him. # 1Sa 18:11 Therefore Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David. # 1Sa 20:7
34And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and did not eat food on the second day of the month. For he was grieved for David, because his father had dishonored him.
35In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time appointed with David, and a little boy was with him. 36And he said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows which I shoot.” He ran, and he shot the arrow over him. 37When the boy came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” # 1Sa 20:22 38Then Jonathan cried after the boy, “Hurry quickly! Do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrow and came to his master. 39But the boy did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”
41When the boy had gone, David rose from the south side of the stone, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more. # 1Sa 18:3
42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, # 1Sa 1:17 since the two of us swore in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, but Jonathan went into the city.
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1 Samuel 20: MEV
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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version
Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.
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.”
5David answered:#Nu 28.11.
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 have 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 home town 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 towards 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. 14-15Some day the LORD will wipe out all 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.#2 S 9.1.
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 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 further 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 favour 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 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 have each asked the LORD to watch and make sure that we and our descendants keep our promise for ever.”
David left and Jonathan went back to town.
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