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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1 Samuel 19: GW
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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.
1 Samuel 19
19
1 Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. 2Jonathan told David, saying, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Now therefore, please take care of yourself in the morning, live in a secret place, and hide yourself. 3I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will talk with my father about you; and if I see anything, I will tell you.”
4 Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, “Don’t let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good towards you; 5for he put his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and the LORD worked a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood, to kill David without a cause?”
6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan; and Saul swore, “As the LORD lives, he shall not be put to death.”
7 Jonathan called David, and Jonathan showed him all those things. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.
8 There was war again. David went out and fought with the Philistines, and killed them with a great slaughter; and they fled before him.
9 An evil spirit from the LORD was on Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing music with his hand. 10Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence; and he stuck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night. 11Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you don’t save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12So Michal let David down through the window. He went away, fled, and escaped. 13Michal took the teraphim#19:13 teraphim were household idols that may have been associated with inheritance rights to the household property. and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. 14When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”
15 Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16When the messengers came in, behold, the teraphim was in the bed, with the pillow of goats’ hair at its head.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?”
Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”
18 Now David fled and escaped, and came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and lived in Naioth. 19Saul was told, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.”
20 Saul sent messengers to seize David; and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, God’s Spirit came on Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 21When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. 22Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great well that is in Secu: and he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”
One said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.”
23 He went there to Naioth in Ramah. Then God’s Spirit came on him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24He also stripped off his clothes. He also prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also amongst the prophets?”
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