1 Samuel 20
20
David and Jonathan Make an Agreement
1David ran away from the camps at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done wrong? What is my crime? Why is your father trying to kill me?”
2Jonathan answered, “That can’t be true! My father isn’t trying to kill you. My father doesn’t do anything without first telling me. It doesn’t matter how important it is, my father always tells me. Why would my father refuse to tell me that he wants to kill you? No, it is not true!”
3But David answered, “Your father knows very well that I am your friend. Your father said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.’#20:3 he will tell David This is from the ancient Greek version. The standard Hebrew text here has “he will be upset.” But as surely as you and the Lord are alive, I am very close to death.”
4Jonathan said to David, “I will do anything you want me to do.”
5Then David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the evening. 6If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David wanted to go home to Bethlehem. His family is having its own feast for this monthly sacrifice. David asked me to let him run down to Bethlehem and join his family.’ 7If your father says, ‘Fine,’ then I am safe. But if your father becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me. 8Jonathan, be kind to me. I am your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself, but don’t take me to your father.”
9Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to hurt you, I will warn you.”
10David said, “Who will warn me if your father says bad things to you?”
11Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So Jonathan and David went together into the field.
12Jonathan said to David, “I make this promise before the Lord, the God of Israel. I promise that I will learn how my father feels about you. I will learn if he feels good about you or not. Then, in three days, I will send a message to you in the field. 13If my father wants to hurt you, I will let you know. I will let you leave in safety. May the Lord punish me if I don’t do this. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. 14-15As long as I live, show me the same kindness the Lord does. And if I die, never stop showing this kindness to my family. Be faithful to us, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies#20:14-15 enemies Or “descendants.” from the earth.” 16So Jonathan made this agreement with David and his family, and he asked the Lord to hold them responsible for keeping it.#20:14-16 The Hebrew text here is unclear, and several different translations are possible.
17Jonathan loved David as himself, and because of this love, he asked David to repeat this agreement for himself.
18Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. Your seat will be empty, so my father will see that you are gone. 19On the third day go to the same place you hid when this trouble began. Wait by that hill. 20On the third day I will go to that hill and shoot three arrows as if I am shooting at a target. 21Then I will tell the boy to go find the arrows. If everything is fine, I will tell the boy, ‘You went too far! The arrows are closer to me. Come back and get them.’ If I say that, you can come out of hiding. I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe. There is no danger. 22But if there is trouble, I will say to the boy, ‘The arrows are farther away. Go get them.’ If I say that, you must leave. The Lord is sending you away. 23Remember this agreement between you and me. The Lord is our witness forever.”
24Then David hid in the field.
Saul’s Attitude at the Celebration
The time for the New Moon celebration came, and the king sat down to eat. 25He sat next to the wall where he usually sat, and Jonathan sat across from him. Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26That day Saul said nothing. He thought, “Maybe something happened to David so that he is not clean.”
27On the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to the New Moon celebration yesterday or today?”
28Jonathan answered, “David asked me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go. Our family is having a sacrifice in Bethlehem. My brother ordered me to be there. Now if I am your friend, please let me go and see my brothers.’ That is why David has not come to the king’s table.”
30Saul was very angry with Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a twisted, rebellious woman! I know that you have chosen to support that son of Jesse.#20:30 that son of Jesse Saul refers to David by his father’s name, intending it as an insult. This will bring shame to you and to your mother. 31As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will never be king and have a kingdom. Now, bring David to me! He is a dead man.”
32Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be killed? What did he do wrong?”
33But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father wanted very much to kill David. 34Jonathan became angry and left the table. He was so upset and angry with his father that he refused to eat any food on the second day of the festival. He was angry because Saul humiliated him and because Saul wanted to kill David.
David and Jonathan Say Goodbye
35The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. Jonathan brought a little boy with him. 36He said to the boy, “Run. Go find the arrows I shoot.” The boy began to run, and Jonathan shot the arrows over his head. 37The boy ran to the place where the arrows fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrows are farther away.” 38Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go get them. Don’t just stand there.” The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to his master. 39The boy knew nothing about what went on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to go back to town.
41When the boy left, David came out from his hiding place on the other side of the hill. David gave a formal greeting by bowing to the ground three times to show his respect for Jonathan. But then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together. It was a very sad goodbye, especially for David.
42Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have taken an oath in the Lord’s name to be friends forever. We have asked the Lord to be a witness between us and our descendants forever.”
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1 Samuel 20: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
1 Samuel 20
20
David and Jonathan
1David was in Naioth at Ramah. He ran away from there to where Jonathan was. He asked him, “What have I done? What crime have I committed? I haven’t done anything to harm your father. So why is he trying to kill me?”
2“That will never happen!” Jonathan replied. “You aren’t going to die! My father doesn’t do anything at all without letting me know. So why would he hide this from me? He isn’t going to kill you!”
3But David strongly disagreed. He said, “Your father knows very well that you are pleased with me. He has said to himself, ‘I don’t want Jonathan to know I’m planning to kill David. If he finds out, he’ll be very sad.’ But I’m very close to being killed. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.”
4Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do anything you want me to do for you.”
5So David said, “Tomorrow is the time for the New Moon feast. I’m supposed to eat with the king. But let me go and hide in the field. I’ll stay there until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6Your father might miss me. If he does, then tell him, ‘David begged me to let him hurry home to Bethlehem. A yearly sacrifice is being offered there for his whole family group.’ 7Your father might say, ‘That’s all right.’ If he does, it will mean I’m safe. But he might become very angry. If he does, you can be sure he’s made up his mind to harm me. 8Please be kind to me. You have made a covenant with me in front of the Lord. If I’m guilty, kill me yourself! Don’t hand me over to your father!”
9“I would never do that!” Jonathan said. “Suppose I had even the smallest clue that my father had made up his mind to harm you. Then I would tell you.”
10David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you in a mean way?”
11“Come on,” Jonathan said. “Let’s go out to the field.” So they went there together.
12Then Jonathan spoke to David. He said, “I promise you that I’ll find out what my father is planning to do. I’ll find out by this time the day after tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness. Suppose my father has kind feelings toward you. Then I’ll send you a message and let you know. 13But suppose he wants to harm you. And I don’t let you know about it. Suppose I don’t help you get away in peace. Then may the Lord punish me greatly. May he be with you, just as he has been with my father. 14But always be kind to me, just as the Lord is. Be kind to me as long as I live. Then I won’t be killed. 15And never stop being kind to my family. Don’t stop even when the Lord has cut off every one of your enemies from the face of the earth.”
16So Jonathan made a covenant of friendship with David and his family. He said, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies responsible for what they’ve done.” 17Jonathan had David promise his friendship again because he loved him. In fact, Jonathan loved David just as he loved himself.
18Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the time for the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat at the table will be empty. 19Go to the place where you hid when all this trouble began. Go there the day after tomorrow, when evening is approaching. There’s a stone out there called Ezel. 20Wait by it. I’ll shoot three arrows to one side of the stone. I’ll pretend I’m practicing my shooting. 21Then I’ll send a boy out there. I’ll tell him, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ Suppose I say to him, ‘The arrows are on this side of you. Bring them here.’ Then come. That will mean you are safe. You won’t be in any danger. And that’s just as sure as the Lord is alive. 22But suppose I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are far beyond you.’ Then go. That will mean the Lord is sending you away. 23And remember what we talked about. Remember that the Lord is a witness between you and me forever.”
24So David hid in the field. When the time for the New Moon feast came, the king sat down to eat. 25He sat in his usual place by the wall. Jonathan sat across from him. Abner sat next to Saul. But David’s place was empty. 26Saul didn’t say anything that day. He said to himself, “Something must have happened to David to make him ‘unclean.’ That must be why he isn’t here.” 27But the next day, David’s place was empty again. It was the second day of the month. Finally, Saul spoke to his son Jonathan. He said, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal? He hasn’t been here yesterday or today.”
28Jonathan replied, “David begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Let me go. Our family is offering a sacrifice in the town. My brother has ordered me to be there. Are you pleased with me? If you are, let me go and see my brothers.’ That’s why he hasn’t come to eat at your table.”
30Saul became very angry with Jonathan. He said to him, “You are an evil son. You have refused to obey me. I know that you are on the side of Jesse’s son. You should be ashamed of that. And your mother should be ashamed of having a son like you. 31You will never be king as long as Jesse’s son lives on this earth. And you will never have a kingdom either. So send someone to bring the son of Jesse to me. He must die!”
32“Why do you want to put him to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?” 33But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father wanted to kill David.
34So Jonathan got up from the table. He was very angry. On that second day of the feast, he refused to eat. He was very sad that his father was treating David so badly.
35The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David. He took a young boy with him. 36He said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, Jonathan shot an arrow far beyond him. 37The boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen. Then Jonathan shouted to him, “The arrow went far beyond you, didn’t it?” 38He continued, “Hurry up! Run fast! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39The boy didn’t know what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy. He told him, “Go back to town. Take the weapons with you.”
41After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone. He bowed down in front of Jonathan with his face to the ground. He did it three times. Then they kissed each other and cried. But David cried more than Jonathan did.
42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. In the name of the Lord we’ve promised to be friends. We have said, ‘The Lord is a witness between you and me. He’s a witness between your children and my children forever.’ ” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
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