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Jonathan Helps David
David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”
David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan. “What have I done?” he exclaimed. “What is my crime? How have I offended your father that he is so determined to kill me?”
Jonathan Helps David
And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life?
And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life?
“That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “You’re not going to die. He always tells me everything he’s going to do, even the little things. I know my father wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so!”
And he said to him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, and not apprise me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
Then David took an oath before Jonathan and said, “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I won’t tell Jonathan — why should I hurt him?’ But I swear to you that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the LORD and by your own soul!”
And David swore again and again, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found favour in thy sight: and he has thought, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he be grieved; but truly [as] Jehovah liveth, and [as] thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
“Tell me what I can do to help you,” Jonathan exclaimed.
And Jonathan said to David, What thy soul may say, I will even do it for thee.
David replied, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. I’ve always eaten with the king on this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.
If your father asks where I am, tell him I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family sacrifice.
If thy father should actually miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
If he says, ‘Fine!’ you will know all is well. But if he is angry and loses his temper, you will know he is determined to kill me.
If he say thus, It is well, -- thy servant shall have peace; but if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by him.
Show me this loyalty as my sworn friend — for we made a solemn pact before the LORD — or kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father. But please don’t betray me to him!”
Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
“Never!” Jonathan exclaimed. “You know that if I had the slightest notion my father was planning to kill you, I would tell you at once.”
And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for, if I knew with certainty that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee?
Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
“Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together.
Jonathan and David Renew Covenant
And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the LORD, the God of Israel, that by this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father and let you know at once how he feels about you. If he speaks favorably about you, I will let you know.
And Jonathan said to David, Jehovah, God of Israel, when I sound my father about this time to-morrow, [or] the next day, and behold, there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and apprise thee of it,
But if he is angry and wants you killed, may the LORD strike me and even kill me if I don’t warn you so you can escape and live. May the LORD be with you as he used to be with my father.
Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan. Should it please my father [to do] thee evil, then I will apprise thee of it, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and Jehovah be with thee, as he has been with my father.
And may you treat me with the faithful love of the LORD as long as I live. But if I die,
And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of Jehovah, that I die not,
treat my family with this faithful love, even when the LORD destroys all your enemies from the face of the earth.”
but thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever, no, not when Jehovah cuts off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth.
And Jonathan made [a covenant] with the house of David, [saying,] Let Jehovah even require [it] at the hand of David's enemies!
And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself.
And Jonathan caused David to swear again, by the love he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we celebrate the new moon festival. You will be missed when your place at the table is empty.
And Jonathan said to him, To-morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty;
but on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the business, and abide by the stone Ezel.
I will come out and shoot three arrows to the side of the stone pile as though I were shooting at a target.
And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know, as surely as the LORD lives, that all is well, and there is no trouble.
And behold, I will send the lad, [saying,] Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come, for there is peace for thee, and it is nothing; [as] Jehovah liveth.
But if I tell him, ‘Go farther — the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately, for the LORD is sending you away.
But if I say thus to the youth: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, -- go thy way; for Jehovah sends thee away.
And may the LORD make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”
And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between me and thee for ever.
So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon festival began, the king sat down to eat.
And David hid himself in the field; and it was the new moon, and the king sat at table to eat.
And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
Saul didn’t say anything about it that day, for he said to himself, “Something must have made David ceremonially unclean.”
And Saul said nothing that day; for he thought, Something has befallen [him], that he is not clean: surely he is not clean.
But when David’s place was empty again the next day, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse been here for the meal either yesterday or today?”
And it came to pass the next day after the new moon, the second [day of the month], as David's place was empty, that Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jesse come to table, neither yesterday nor to-day?
Jonathan replied, “David earnestly asked me if he could go to Bethlehem.
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me [to go] to Bethlehem,
He said, ‘Please let me go, for we are having a family sacrifice. My brother demanded that I be there. So please let me get away to see my brothers.’ That’s why he isn’t here at the king’s table.”
and said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family sacrifice in the city; and my brother himself has commanded me [to be there]; and now, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. He has therefore not come to the king's table.
Saul Seeks to Kill Jonathan
And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
As long as that son of Jesse is alive, you’ll never be king. Now go and get him so I can kill him!”
For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die.
“But why should he be put to death?” Jonathan asked his father. “What has he done?”
And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be put to death? what has he done?
Then Saul hurled his spear at Jonathan, intending to kill him. So at last Jonathan realized that his father was really determined to kill David.
Then Saul cast the spear at him to smite him; and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death.
Jonathan left the table in fierce anger and refused to eat on that second day of the festival, for he was crushed by his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no meat the second day of the new moon; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
The next morning, as agreed, Jonathan went out into the field and took a young boy with him to gather his arrows.
And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, to the place agreed on with David, and a little lad with him.
“Start running,” he told the boy, “so you can find the arrows as I shoot them.” So the boy ran, and Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him.
And he said to his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot the arrow beyond him.
When the boy had almost reached the arrow, Jonathan shouted, “The arrow is still ahead of you.
And when the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad and said, Is not the arrow away beyond thee?
Hurry, hurry, don’t wait.” So the boy quickly gathered up the arrows and ran back to his master.
And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not! And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
He, of course, suspected nothing; only Jonathan and David understood the signal.
And the lad knew nothing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to take them back to town.
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city.
The lad went, and David arose from the side of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have both of us sworn in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever! And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.