1 Samuel 20
20
1Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? 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 without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3But David replied,#20.3 Gk: Heb swore again “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes; and he thinks, ‘Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4Then said Jonathan to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ 7If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then know that evil is determined by him. 8Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant#20.8 Heb a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, slay me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father?” 9And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell you?” 10Then said David to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
12And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness!#20.12 Heb lacks be witness When I have sounded my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14If I am still alive, show me the loyal love of the Lord, that I may not die;#20.14 Heb uncertain 15and do not cut off your loyalty from my house for ever. When the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth, 16let not the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David.#20.16 Gk: Heb earth, and Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David And may the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19And on the third day you will be greatly missed;#20.19 Gk: Heb go down quickly then go to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside yonder stone heap.#20.19 Gk: Heb the stone Ezel 20And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go; for the Lord has sent you away. 23And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me for ever.”
24So David hid himself in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25The king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall; Jonathan sat opposite,#20.25 Cn See Gk: Heb stood up and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.
26Yet Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, “Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean.” 27But on the second day, the morrow after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem; 29he said, ‘Let me go; for our family holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away, and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”
30Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen 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 upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and fetch him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33But Saul cast his spear at him to smite him; so Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
35In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little lad. 36And he said to his lad, “Run and find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37And when the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38And Jonathan called after the lad, “Hurry, make haste, stay not.” So Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. 39But the lad knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41And as soon as the lad had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap#20.41 Gk: Heb from beside the south and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times; and they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David recovered himself.#20.41 Or exceeded 42Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, for ever.’ ” And he rose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.#20.42 This sentence is 21.1 in Heb
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
I Samuel 20
20
Jonathan’s Loyalty to David
1Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?”
2So Jonathan said to him, “By no means! You shall not die! Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!”
3Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But #1 Sam. 10:10–12truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”
4So Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you.”
5And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the #1 Sam. 27:1; 2 Kin. 2:6New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may #Num. 10:10; 28:11–15hide in the field until the third day at evening. 6If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over #1 Sam. 19:2, 3to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.’ 7#1 Sam. 16:4; 17:12; John 7:42If he says thus: ‘It is well,’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that #Deut. 1:23; 2 Sam. 17:4evil is determined by him. 8Therefore you shall #1 Sam. 25:17; Esth. 7:7deal kindly with your servant, for #Josh. 2:14you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, #1 Sam. 18:3; 20:16; 23:18if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”
9But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”
10Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”
11And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. 12Then Jonathan said to David: “The Lord God of Israel is witness! When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, 13may #2 Sam. 14:32the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And #Ruth 1:17; 1 Sam. 3:17the Lord be with you as He has #Josh. 1:5; 1 Sam. 17:37; 18:12; 1 Chr. 22:11, 16been with my father. 14And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; 15but #1 Sam. 10:7you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, #1 Sam. 24:21; 2 Sam. 9:1, 3, 7; 21:7“Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”
17Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; #Deut. 23:21; 1 Sam. 25:22; 31:2; 2 Sam. 4:7; 21:8for he loved him as he loved his own soul. 18Then Jonathan said to David, #1 Sam. 18:1“Tomorrow is the New Moon; and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to #1 Sam. 20:5, 24the place where you hid on the day of the deed; and remain by the stone Ezel. 20Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target; 21and there I will send a lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I expressly say to the lad, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them and come’—then, #1 Sam. 19:2as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. 22But if I say thus to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you’—go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. 23And as for #Jer. 4:2the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed the Lord be between you and me forever.”
24Then David hid in the field. And when the New Moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. 25Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, but David’s place was empty. 26Nevertheless Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him; he is unclean, surely he is #1 Sam. 20:14, 15unclean.” 27And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today?”
28So Jonathan #Lev. 7:20, 21; 15:5answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. 29And he said, ‘Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the king’s table.”
30Then Saul’s anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen 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, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore, send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
32And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, #1 Sam. 20:6“Why should he be killed? What has he done?” 33Then Saul #Gen. 31:36; 1 Sam. 19:5; (Prov. 31:9); Matt. 27:23; Luke 23:22cast a spear at him to kill him, #1 Sam. 18:11; 19:10by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David.
34So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully.
35And so it was, in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. 36Then he said to his lad, “Now run, find the arrows which I shoot.” As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38And Jonathan cried out after the lad, “Make haste, hurry, do not delay!” So Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. 39But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.”
41As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. 42Then Jonathan said to David, #1 Sam. 20:7“Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.