1 Samuel 19
19
1Then Saul instructed his son Jonathan and all his officials to kill David. But Jonathan really liked David, 2so he warned him, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning—find a place to hide and stay hidden. 3I'll go out with my father and stand in the field near to where you are hiding. I'll talk to him about you and see what I can find out, then I'll let you know.”
4Then Jonathan spoke positively about David to his father Saul, and told him, “The king should not do anything bad to his servant David because he's not done anything bad to you—he has always served you well. 5He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about great salvation for the whole of Israel. You saw it and you were delighted, so why would you sin and spill innocent blood by killing David without having any reason?”
6Saul accepted what Jonathan had to say, and promised with an oath: “I swear on the life of the Lord, he won't be put to death.”
7Later Jonathan called David and told him all that had been said. Then he took him to Saul, and David worked for Saul as he had before.
8War broke out once again, and David went to fight the Philistines. He attacked them so forcefully that they ran away in defeat.
9A while later an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. As David played the lyre, 10Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear. David managed to dodge the spear which embedded itself in the wall. Then David escaped and ran away into the night.
11Saul sent some messengers to David's house to keep watch and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David's wife, warned him, “If you don't get away tonight, tomorrow you'll be killed.”
12Michal lowered David down from a window, and he ran off, managing to escape. 13Then she took a home idol#19:13. “Home idol”: the Hebrew word used here is teraphim and they are first mentioned in Genesis 31. They were cult objects that were used to determine the “god's” will, see Ezekiel 21:21; Zechariah 10:2. That such idols would be there in David's house shows the degree to which “pure religion” had been corrupted over time. and laid it in the bed, put a goat hair wig on its head, and covered it with bedclothes.
14When Saul sent the messengers to arrest David, Michal told them, “He's sick.”
15Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him to me in the bed so I can kill him.” 16But when the messengers went into the bedroom, there was the idol in the bed with the goat hair wig on its head.
17“Why did you trick me like this—helping my enemy get away so he could escape?” Saul asked Michal.
“He told me, ‘Get out of my way! I don't want to have to kill you!’” Michal replied.
18This is how David got away and escaped. He went to Samuel at Ramah and explained to him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in Naioth. 19When Saul got to hear that David was at Naioth in Ramah, 20he sent messengers to arrest him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel leading out, the Spirit of God came on Saul's messengers and they started prophesying too. 21Saul was told what had happened, so he sent more messengers, and they started prophesying as well. 22For the third time Saul sent messengers, and they also started prophesying. 23In the end Saul went himself to Ramah and arrived at the large cistern at Secu. “Where are Samuel and David?” he asked.
“At Naioth in Ramah,” someone told him.
So Saul went on to Naioth at Ramah, but the Spirit of God even came on him, and he was prophesying as he walked along until he arrived in Naioth. 24Then Saul also took off his clothes and he too prophesied in Samuel's presence. Then he fell down and lay there naked all that day and all that night. That's why it is said, “Is Saul one of the prophets too?”
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
1 Kings 19
19
1And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan the son of Saul loved David exceedingly.
2And Jonathan told David, saying: Saul my father seeketh to kill thee. Wherefore look to thyself, I beseech thee, in the morning; and thou shalt abide in a secret place and shalt be hid.
3And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art. And I will speak of thee to my father; and whatsoever I shall see, I will tell thee.
4And Jonathan spoke good things of David to Saul his father; and said to him: Sin not, O king, against thy servant, David, because he hath not sinned against thee; and his works are very good towards thee.
5And he put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine; and the Lord wrought great salvation for all Israel. Thou sawest it and didst rejoice. Why therefore wilt thou sin against innocent blood by killing David, who is without fault?
6And when Saul heard this he was appeased with the words of Jonathan, and swore: As the Lord liveth he shall not be slain.
7Then Jonathan called David and told him all these words. And Jonathan brought in David to Saul, and he was before him, as he had been yesterday and the day before.
8And the war began again. And David went out and fought against the Philistines, and defeated them with a great slaughter: and they fled from his face.
9And the evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul: and he sat in his house, and held a spear in his hand. And David played with his hand.
10And Saul endeavoured to nail David to the wall with his spear. And David slipt away out of the presence of Saul: and the spear missed him, and was fastened in the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
11Saul therefore sent his guards to David's house to watch him, that he might be killed in the morning. And when Michol David's wife had told him this, saying: Unless thou save thyself this night, to-morrow thou wilt die,
12She let him down through a window. And he went and fled away and escaped.
13And Michol took an image and laid it on the bed: and put a goat's skin with the hair at the head of it, and covered it with clothes.
14And Saul sent officers to seize David: and it was answered that he was sick.
15And again Saul sent to see David, saying: Bring him to me in the bed, that he may be slain.
16And when the messengers were come in they found an image upon the bed, and a goat's skin at its head.
17And Saul said to Michol: Why hast thou deceived me so, and let my enemy go and flee away? And Michol answered Saul: Because he said to me: Let me go, or else I will kill thee.
18But David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel in Ramatha, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Najoth.
19And it was told Saul by some, saying: Behold David is in Najoth in Ramatha.
20So Saul sent officers to take David: and when they saw a company of prophets prophesying, and Samuel presiding over them, the spirit of the Lord came also upon them, and they likewise began to prophesy.
21And when this was told Saul he sent other messengers: but they also prophesied. And again Saul sent messengers the third time: and they prophesied also. And Saul being exceedingly angry,
22Went also himself to Ramatha, and came as far as the great cistern, which is in Socho, and he asked, and said: In what place are Samuel and David? And it was told him: Behold they are in Najoth in Ramatha.
23And he went to Najoth in Ramatha. And the spirit of the Lord came upon him also; and he went on, and prophesied till he came to Najoth in Ramatha.
24And he stripped himself also of his garments, and prophesied with the rest before Samuel, and lay down naked all that day and night. This gave occasion to a proverb: What! Is Saul too among the prophets?
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.