1 Samuel 20
1 But David fled from Najoth, which is in Ramatha, and came and said to Jonathan: What have I done? what is my iniquity, and what is my sin against thy father, that he seeketh my life?
And David fled from Navath in Rama, and comes into the presence of Jonathan; and he said, What have I done, and what [is] my fault, and wherein have I sinned before thy father, that he seeks my life?
2 And he said to him: God forbid, thou shalt not die: for my father will do nothing great or little, without first telling me: hath then my father hid this word only from me? no, this shall not be.
And Jonathan said to him, Far be it from thee: thou shalt not die: behold, my father will not do any thing great or small without discovering it to me; and why should my father hide this matter from me? This thing is not [so].
3 And he swore again to David. And David said: Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, and he will say: Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth, and thy soul liveth, there is but one step (as I may say) between me and death.
And David answered Jonathan, and said, Thy father knows surely that I have found grace in thy sight, and he said, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he refuse his consent: but [as] the Lord lives and thy soul lives, as I said, [the space] is filled up between me and death.
4 And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.
And Jonathan said to David, What does thy soul desire, and what shall I do for thee.
5 And David said to Jonathan: Behold tomorrow is the new moon, and I according to custom am wont to sit beside the king to eat: let me go then that I may be hid in the field till the evening of the third day.
And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow [is] the new moon, and I shall not on any account sit down to eat, but thou shalt let me go, and I will hide in the plain till the evening.
6 If thy father look and inquire for me, thou shalt answer him: David asked me that he might run to Bethlehem his own city: because there are solemn sacrifices there for all his tribe.
And if thy father do in anywise enquire for me, then shalt thou say, David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethleem his city, for [there is] there, a yearly sacrifice for all the family.
7 If he shall say, It is well: thy servant shall have peace: but if he be angry, know that his malice is come to its height.
If he shall say thus, Well, — [all is] safe for thy servant: but if he shall answer harshly to thee, know that evil is determined by him.
8 Deal mercifully then with thy servant: for thou hast brought me thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee. But if there be any iniquity in me, do thou kill me, and bring me not in to thy father.
And thou shalt deal mercifully with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thyself: and if there is iniquity in thy servant, slay me thyself; but why dost thou thus bring me to thy father?
9 And Jonathan said: Far be this from thee: for if I should certainly know that evil is determined by my father against thee, I could do no otherwise than tell thee.
And Jonathan said, That be far from thee: for if I surely know that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee, although it should not be against thy cities, I will tell thee.
10 And David answered Jonathan: Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly concerning me?
And David said to Jonathan, Who can tell me if thy father should answer roughly?
11 And Jonathan said to David: Come and let us go out into the field. And when they were both of them gone out into the field,
And Jonathan said to David, Go, and abide in the field. And they went out both into the field.
12 Jonathan said to David: O Lord God of Israel, if I shall discover my father’s mind, tomorrow or the day after, and there be any thing good for David, and I send not immediately to thee, and make it known to thee,
And Jonathan said to David, the Lord God of Israel knows that I will sound my father as I have an opportunity, three several times, and, behold, [if good] should be determined concerning David, and I do not send to thee to the field,
13 May the Lord do so and so to Jonathan and add still more. But if my father shall continue in malice against thee, I will discover it to thy ear, and will send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
God do so to Jonathan and more also: as I shall [also] report the evil to thee, and make it known to thee, and I will let thee go; and thou shalt depart in peace, and the Lord shall be with thee, as he was with my father.
14 And if I live, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but if I die,
And if indeed I continue to live, then shalt thou deal mercifully with me; and if I indeed die,
15 Thou shalt not take away thy kindness from my house for ever, when the Lord shall have rooted out the enemies of David, every one of them from the earth, may he take away Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.
thou shalt not withdraw thy mercy from my house for ever: and if thou doest not, when the Lord cuts off the enemies of David each from the face of the earth,
16 Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies.
[should it happen] that the name of Jonathan be discovered by the house of David, then let the Lord seek out the enemies of David.
17 And Jonathan swore again to David, because he loved him: for he loved him as his own soul.
And Jonathan swore yet again to David, because he loved the soul of him that loved him.
18 And Jonathan said to him: Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed:
And Jonathan said, To-morrow [is] the new moon, and thou wilt be enquired for, because thy seat will be observed as vacant.
19 For thy seat will be empty till after tomorrow. So thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place, where thou must be hid on the day when it is lawful to work, and thou shalt remain beside the stone, which is called Ezel.
And thou shalt stay three days, and watch an opportunity, and shalt come to thy place where thou mayest hide thyself in the day of thy business, and thou shalt wait by that ergab.
20 And I will shoot three arrows near it, and will shoot as if I were exercising myself at a mark.
And I will shoot three arrows, aiming them at a mark.
21 And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go and fetch me the arrows.
And behold, I [will] send a lad, saying, Go find me the arrow.
22 If I shall say to the boy: Behold the arrows are on this side of thee, take them up: come thou to me, because, there is peace to thee, and there is no evil, as the Lord liveth. But if I shall speak thus to the boy: Behold the arrows are beyond thee: go in peace, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
If I should expressly say to the lad, The arrow [is] here, and on this side of thee, take it; [then] come, for it is well with thee, and there is no reason [for fear, as] the Lord lives: [but] if I should say thus to the young man, The arrow [is] on that side of thee, and beyond; go, for the Lord hath sent thee away.
23 And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me for ever.
And as for the word which thou and I have spoken, behold, the Lord [is] witness between me and thee for ever.
24 So David was hid in the field, and the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
So David hides himself in the field, and the [new] month arrives, and the king comes to the table to eat.
25 And when the king sat down upon his chair (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place appeared empty.
And he sat upon his seat as in former times, even on his seat by the wall, and he went before Jonathan; and Abenner sat on one side of Saul, and the place of David was empty.
26 And Saul said nothing that day, for he thought it might have happened to him, that he was not clean, nor purified.
And Saul said nothing on that day, for he said, It seems to have fallen out that he is not clean, because he has not purified himself.
27 And when the second day after the new moon was come, David’s place appeared empty again. And Saul said to Jonathan his son: Why cometh not the son of Isai to meat neither yesterday nor today?
And it came to pass on the morrow, on the second day of the month, that the place of David was empty; and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jessae attended both yesterday and today at the table?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to go to Bethlehem,
And Jonathan answered Saul, and said to him, David asked leave of me to go as far as Bethleem his city;
29 And he said: Let me go, for there is a solemn sacrifice in the city, one of my brethren hath sent for me: and now if I have found favour in thy eyes, I will go quickly, and see my brethren. For this cause he came not to the king’s table.
and he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for we have a family sacrifice in the city, and my brethren have sent for me; and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, I will even go over and see my brethren: therefore he is not present at the table of the king.
30 Then Saul being angry against Jonathan said to him: Thou son of a woman that is the ravisher of a man, do I not know that thou lovest the son of Isai to thy own confusion and to the confusion of thy shameless mother?
And Saul was exceedingly angry with Jonathan, and said to him, Thou son of traitorous damsels! for do I not know that thou art an accomplice with the son of Jessae to thy same, and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Isai liveth upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now presently send, and fetch him to me: for he is the son of death.
For so long as the son of Jessae lives upon the earth, thy kingdom shall not be established: now then send and take the young man, for he shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answering Saul his father, said: Why shall he die: what hath he done?
And Jonathan answered Saul, Why is he to die? What has he done?
33 And Saul caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David.
And Saul lifted up his spear against Jonathan to slay him: so Jonathan knew that this evil was determined on by his father to slay David.
34 So Jonathan rose from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was grieved for David, because his father had put him to confusion.
And Jonathan sprang up from the table in great anger, and did not eat bread on the second [day] of the month, for he grieved bitterly for David, because his father determined [on mischief] against him.
35 And when the morning came, Jonathan went into the field, according to the appointment with David, and a little boy with him.
And morning came, and Jonathan went out to the field, as he appointed [to do] for a signal to David, and a little boy [was] with him.
36 And he said to his boy: Go, and fetch me the arrows which I shoot. And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond the boy.
And he said to the boy, Run, find me the arrows which I shoot: and the boy ran, and [Jonathan] shot an arrow, and sent it beyond [him].
37 The boy therefore came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot: and Jonathan cried after the boy, and said: Behold the arrow is there further beyond thee.
And the boy came to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan shot; and Jonathan cried out after the lad, and said, The arrow [is] on that side of thee and beyond thee.
38 And Jonathan cried again after the boy, saying: Make haste speedily, stand not. And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows, and brought them to his master:
And Jonathan cried out after his boy, saying, Make all speed, and stay not. And Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows, and brought the arrows to his master.
39 And he knew not at all what was doing: for only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
And the boy knew nothing, only Jonathan and David [knew].
40 Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and said to him: Go, and carry them into the city.
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy, and said to his boy, Go, enter into the city.
41 And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was towards the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice: and kissing one another, they wept together, but David more.
And when the lad went in, then David arose from the argab, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three times, and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while.
42 And Jonathan said to David: Go in peace: and let all stand that we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying: The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And David arose, and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, and as we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord shall be witness between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever—[even so let it be]. And David arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
