1 Samuel 20
20
Jonathan Supports David over Saul
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 is trying to kill me?#Literally “seeking my life” 2And he said to him, “Far from it! You will not die! Look, my father does not do#The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “he does to/for him”; the translation follows the reading tradition (Qere) which has “does not do” anything large or small unless he reveals it to me.#Literally “a large thing or a small thing and he does not reveal to my ear” Why should my father hide this thing or anything from me?” 3Then David took an oath#Literally “swore” again and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.’ But as Yahweh lives#Literally “the life of Yahweh” and as your soul lives,#Literally “the life of your soul” surely there is merely a step between me and death!” 4Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you wish,#Literally “What your soul says” I will do for you.” 5David said to Jonathan, “Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should certainly sit with the king to eat. You must send me away so that I can hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6If your father misses me at all, then you must say, ‘David earnestly asked from me to run to Bethlehem his city, for the yearly sacrifice#Literally “the sacrifice of the days” is there for all the clan.’ 7If he says ‘Good,’ it will mean peace for your servant; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided to do me harm.#Literally “the evil has been determined from with him” 8So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is guilt in me, then kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?” 9Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I know for certain that my father decided evil should come upon you,#Literally “the evil is determined from with my father to come over you” would I not have told it to you?” 10Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if what your father answers you is harsh?” 11And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out to the field.” So the two of them went out to the field.
12Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh the God of Israel is my witness#The phrase “is my witness” is supplied based on the Syriac version that I will question my father by this time the day after tomorrow.#Literally “as the time tomorrow the third” And look, if he is well disposed toward you,#Literally “if he is good to David” will I not send word to you and disclose it to you?#Literally “I will reveal it to your ear” 13So may Yahweh punish Jonathan and more#Literally “So may Yahweh do to Jonathan and so may he add” if my father decides to do you harm#Literally “the evil over you is regarded as good by my father” and if I fail to disclose it to you#Literally “I will reveal it to your ear” and send word to you that you can go safely. And may Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my father. 14And not while I am still alive, will you not show the loyal love of Yahweh with me, that I may not die?#Or perhaps “and if I die, may you not …” 15And do not cut off your loyal love from my family#Literally “my house” forever, not even when Yahweh exterminates#Literally “cuts off” each of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16So Jonathan made a covenant#Literally “cut a covenant” with the house of David, saying, “May Yahweh call the enemies of David to account.”#Literally “seek from the hand of the enemies of David” 17And Jonathan again made David swear an oath, because he loved him; for with the love of his soul he loved him.
18Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will stay empty. 19On the third day you must go down quickly and go to the place where you hid yourself on the day all this started#Literally “on the day of the deed” and remain beside the stone Ezel. 20I will shoot three arrows to the side as if I were shooting at a target. 21Then#Literally “And look” I will send word to my servant, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ If I clearly say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you;#Literally “from you and here” bring#Literally “take” it,’ then#Hebrew “and” come, for it means peace for you. And there is no problem, as Yahweh lives.#Literally “the life of Yahweh” 22But if I say this to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’#Literally “from you and beyond” go, for Yahweh has sent you away. 23And as for the matter about which you and I spoke, look, Yahweh is between you and me forever.”
24So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came,#Literally “And it was the new moon” the king was seated at the feast.#Literally “the king sat at the food to eat” 25The king sat at his seat as before,#Literally “as occurrence at occurrence” the seat by the wall, and Jonathan got up, and Abner sat beside Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, “Something happened to him.#Literally “It is incident” He is not ceremonially clean; surely he is not clean.” 27And then#Literally “And it happened” on the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty. So Saul asked Jonathan his son, “Why did the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to the feast?” 28Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission from me to go up to Bethlehem. 29He said, ‘Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice is in the city, and my brother commanded#Or “urged” me to be present. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the table of the king.” 30Then Saul became angry#Literally “the nose of Saul became hot” at Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman!#Or “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796) Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31For as long as#Literally “all the days which” the son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for he will surely die!”#Literally “he is a son of death” 32But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33Then Saul hurled his#Hebrew “the” spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father had decided#Literally “it was complete from with his father” to kill David.
34Jonathan got up from the table enraged,#Literally “with burning of nose” and did not eat on the second day of the new moon because he was upset about David, because his father had disgraced him. 35And then#Literally “And it happened” in the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a young boy#Or “young servant” was with him. 36He said to his servant,#Or “boy” “Run, please find the arrows that I am shooting!” The boy#Or “servant” ran, and he shot the arrow to pass over him. 37When the boy came up to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called out after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”#Literally “from you and beyond” 38Then Jonathan called out after the boy, “Quick, hurry, do not linger!” And Jonathan’s servant collected the arrows and came to his master. 39But the boy did not know anything about this; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40Jonathan gave his weapons to his servant and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41The boy left, and then David got up from the south side,#So Masoretic Hebrew text; LXX reads “from the mound” (of stones) and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other#Literally “each his friend” and wept together,#Literally “each with his friend” but David wept the most. 42Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn, the two of us, an oath in the name of Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever.”#In the Hebrew Bible, 1 Sam 21 begins here. 1 Samuel 20:42b–21:15 in the English Bible is 21:1–16 in the Hebrew Bible Then he got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.
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1 Samuel 20: LEB
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1 Samuel 20
20
David Consults with Jonathan. 1David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and went to Jonathan. “What have I done?” he asked him. “What crime or what offense does your father hold against me that he seeks my life?”#1 Sm 19:1–7, 11–17; 21:11; 27:4; Gn 31:36. 2Jonathan answered him: “Heaven forbid that you should die! My father does nothing, great or small, without telling me. Why, then, should my father conceal this from me? It cannot be true!” 3But David replied: “Your father is well aware that I am favored with your friendship, so he has decided, ‘Jonathan must not know about this or he will be grieved.’ Nevertheless, as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.” 4Jonathan then said to David, “I will do whatever you say.” 5David answered: “Tomorrow is the new moon, when I should in fact dine with the king. Let me go and hide in the open country until evening.#Nm 10:10; 28:11–15; Ezr 3:5; Neh 10:34. 6If it turns out that your father misses me, say, ‘David urged me to let him go on short notice to his city Bethlehem, because his whole clan is holding its seasonal sacrifice there.’#1 Sm 17:12. 7If he says, ‘Very well,’ your servant is safe. But if he becomes quite angry, you can be sure he has planned some harm. 8#1 Sm 18:3; 23:17–18. Do this kindness for your servant because of the Lord’s covenant into which you brought us: if I am guilty, kill me yourself! Why should you give me up to your father?” 9But Jonathan answered: “Not I! If ever I find out that my father is determined to harm you, I will certainly let you know.” 10David then asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh answer?”
Mutual Agreement. 11Jonathan replied to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” When they were out in the open country together, 12Jonathan said to David: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, I will sound out my father about this time tomorrow. Whether he is well disposed toward David or not, I will inform you. 13#1 Sm 10:7; 17:37; 18:12, 14; 24:22–23; 2 Sm 9:1–13; 21:7. Should it please my father to bring any harm upon you, may the Lord do thus to Jonathan and more,#See note on 3:17. if I do not inform you of it and send you on your way in peace. May the Lord be with you even as he was with my father. 14Only this: if I am still alive, may you show me the kindness of the Lord. But if I die, 15never cut off your kindness from my house. And when the Lord cuts off all the enemies of David from the face of the land, 16the name of Jonathan must never be cut off from the family of David, or the Lord will make you answer for it.” 17And in his love for David, Jonathan renewed his oath to him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
18Jonathan then said to him: “Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, since your place will be vacant. 19On the third day you will be missed all the more. Go to the spot where you hid on the other occasion and wait near the mound there.#1 Sm 19:1–7. 20On the third day of the month I will shoot arrows to the side of it, as though aiming at a target. 21I will then send my attendant to recover the arrows. If in fact I say to him, ‘Look, the arrow is this side of you; pick it up,’ come, for you are safe. As the Lord lives, there will be nothing to fear. 22But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrow is beyond you,’ go, for the Lord sends you away. 23However, in the matter which you and I have discussed, the Lord shall be between you and me forever.” 24So David hid in the open country.
David’s Absence. On the day of the new moon, when the king sat down at the feast to dine, 25he took his usual place against the wall. Jonathan sat facing him, while Abner sat at the king’s side. David’s place was vacant. 26#1 Sm 16:5; Lv 7:20–21; 15:1–3. Saul, however, said nothing that day, for he thought, “He must have become unclean by accident.”#The meal on the first day of the month would have had religious overtones, and a ritual impurity (Lv 15:16; Dt 23:10–12) would have barred David from sharing in it. 27On the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to table yesterday or today?” 28Jonathan explained to Saul: “David pleaded with me to let him go to Bethlehem. 29‘Please let me go,’ he begged, ‘for we are having a clan sacrifice in our city, and my brothers insist on my presence. Now then, if you think well of me, give me leave to visit my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.” 30But Saul grew angry with Jonathan and said to him: “Son of a rebellious woman, do I not know that, to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness, you are the companion of Jesse’s son? 31For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, you cannot make good your claim to the kingship!#Your claim to the kingship: Saul admits his intention that Jonathan should succeed him and that David is a threat to his lineage (cf. 23:17). However Jonathan has already acknowledged David’s kingship (18:3–4) and his own subservient role (20:13–16). Now send for him, and bring him to me, for he must die.”#2 Sm 12:5. 32But Jonathan argued with his father Saul: “Why should he die? What has he done?” 33At this Saul brandished his spear to strike him, and thus Jonathan learned that his father was determined to kill David.#1 Sm 18:11. 34Jonathan sprang up from the table in a rage and ate nothing that second day of the month, because he was grieved on David’s account, and because his father had humiliated him.
Jonathan’s Farewell. 35The next morning Jonathan, accompanied by a young boy, went out into the field for his appointment with David. 36There he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows.” And as the boy ran, he shot an arrow past him. 37When the boy made for the spot where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called after him, “The arrow is farther on!” 38Again he called to the boy, “Hurry, be quick, don’t delay!” Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and brought it to his master. 39The boy suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David knew what was meant. 40Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.” 41When the boy had gone, David rose from beside the mound and fell on his face to the ground three times in homage. They kissed each other and wept aloud together. 42#2 Sm 9:1; 21:7. At length Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, in keeping with what the two of us have sworn by the name of the Lord: ‘The Lord shall be between you and me, and between your offspring and mine forever.’”
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