1 Samuel 19
19
David escapes Saul
1Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, liked David very much. 2So Jonathan warned David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Be on guard tomorrow morning. Stay somewhere safe and hide. 3I’ll go out and stand by my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll talk to my father about you, and I’ll tell you whatever I find out.”
4So Jonathan spoke highly about David to his father Saul, telling him, “The king shouldn’t do anything wrong to his servant David, because he hasn’t wronged you. In fact, his actions have helped you greatly. 5He risked his own life when he killed that Philistine, and the LORD won a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and were happy about it. Why then would you do something wrong to an innocent person by killing David for no reason?”
6Saul listened to Jonathan and then swore, “As surely as the LORD lives, David won’t be executed.” 7So Jonathan summoned David and told him everything they had talked about. Then Jonathan brought David back to Saul, and David served Saul as he had previously.
8War broke out again. When David went out to fight the Philistines, he struck them with such force that they ran from him.
9Then an evil spirit from the LORD came over Saul.#19.9 Or to Saul He was sitting in his house with his spear in hand while David was playing music. 10Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David escaped Saul. Saul drove the spear into the wall, but David fled and got away safely. That night 11Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch on it and kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you don’t escape with your life tonight, you are a dead man tomorrow.” 12So Michal lowered David through a window. He took off and ran, and he got away. 13Then Michal took the household’s divine image and laid it in the bed, putting some goat’s hair on its head and covering it with clothes.
14Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, “He’s sick.”
15Saul sent the messengers back to check on David for themselves. “Bring him to me on his bed,” he ordered, “so he can be executed.” 16When the messengers arrived, they found the idol in the bed with the goat’s hair on its head. 17Saul said to Michal, “Why could you betray me like this, letting my enemy go so that now he has escaped?”
Michal said to Saul, “David told me, ‘Help me get away or I’ll kill you!’”
18So David fled and escaped. When he reached Samuel at Ramah, he reported to him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in the camps.#19.18 Or Naioth, also in 19:19, 22-23
19When Saul was told that David was in the camps at Ramah, 20he sent messengers to arrest David. They saw a group of prophets in a prophetic frenzy, with Samuel standing there as their leader. God’s spirit came over Saul’s messengers, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. 21This was reported to Saul, and he sent different messengers, but they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. So Saul sent a third group of messengers, and they did the very same thing.
22At that point, Saul went to Ramah himself. He came to the well at the threshing floor that was on the bare hill there#19.22 LXX; MT the large well at Secu and asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”
“In the camps at Ramah,” he was told. 23So Saul went to the camps at Ramah, and God’s spirit came over him too. So as he traveled, he was in a prophetic frenzy until he reached the camps at Ramah. 24He even took off all his clothes and fell into a prophetic frenzy in front of Samuel. He lay naked that whole day and night. That’s why people say, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”
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1 Samuel 19: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
1 Samuel 19
19
Saul’s Plan to Kill David
1Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officers to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan was very fond of David, 2so he reported to David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning. Go into hiding, and stay out of sight. 3I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll speak with my father about you. If I find out anything, I’ll tell you.”
4So Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. “You should not commit a sin against your servant David,” he said. “He hasn’t sinned against you. Instead, he has done some very fine things for you: 5He risked his life and killed the Philistine Goliath, and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you rejoiced. Why then should you sin by shedding David’s innocent blood for no reason?”
6Saul listened to Jonathan, and he promised, “I solemnly swear, as the Lord lives, he will not be killed.” 7Jonathan told David all of this. Then Jonathan took David to Saul. So David was returned to his former status in Saul’s court.
Saul Tries to Kill David
8When war broke out again, David went to fight the Philistines. He defeated them so decisively that they fled from him. 9Then an evil spirit from the Lord came over Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was strumming a tune. 10Saul tried to nail David to the wall with his spear. But David dodged it, and Saul’s spear struck the wall. David fled, escaping ⌞from Saul⌟ that night.
11Saul sent messengers to watch David’s house and kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, advised him, “If you don’t save yourself tonight, you’ll be dead tomorrow!” 12So Michal lowered David through a window, and he ran away to escape. 13Then Michal took some idols, laid them in the bed, put a goat-hair blanket at its head, and covered the idols with a garment.
14When Saul sent messengers to get David, Michal said, “He’s sick.” 15Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David themselves. Saul told them, “Bring him here to me in his bed so that I can kill him.” 16The messengers came, and there in the bed were the idols with the goat-hair blanket at its head.
17Saul asked Michal, “Why did you betray me by sending my enemy away so that he could escape?”
Michal answered, “He told me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’ ”
18David escaped and went to Samuel at Ramah. He told Samuel everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to the pastures and lived there.
19When it was reported to Saul that David was in the pastures at Ramah, 20Saul sent messengers to get David. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel serving as their leader, God’s Spirit came over Saul’s messengers so that they also prophesied. 21When they told Saul ⌞about this⌟, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. Saul even sent a third group of messengers, but they also prophesied. 22Then he went to Ramah himself. He went as far as the big cistern in Secu and asked ⌞the people⌟, “Where are Samuel and David?”
He was told, “Over there in the pastures at Ramah.” 23As he went toward the pastures at Ramah, God’s Spirit came over him too. He continued his journey, prophesying until he came to the pastures at Ramah. 24He even took off his clothes as he prophesied in front of Samuel and lay there naked all day and all night. This is where the saying, “Is Saul one of the prophets?” came from.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.