1 Samuel 20
1 And David fled from Naioth, in Ramah, —and came in, and said before Jonathan—What have I done? What is my transgression, and what my sin, before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
Then David fled from Naioth, which is in Ramah, and he went and said before Jonathan: “What have I done? What is my iniquity, or what is my sin, against your father, so that he would seek my life?”
2 And he said unto him—Far be it! thou shalt not die. Lo! my father doeth nothing, great or small, without unveiling mine ear, —wherefore, then, should my father hide from me, this thing? There is, nothing, in this.
And he said to him: “May this not be! You shall not die. For my father will not do anything, great or small, without first revealing it to me. Therefore, has my father concealed this word solely from me? By no means shall this be!”
3 But David sware yet further, and said—Thy father, doth know, that I have found favour in thine eyes, therefore saith he, —Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he grieve; but, indeed, by the life of Yahweh, and by the life of thine own soul, surely there is but as it were a step betwixt me and death!
And he swore again to David. And David said: “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and so he will say, ‘Let Jonathan not know this, lest he be saddened.’ So truly, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is only one step (if I may say it) separating me from death.”
4 And Jonathan said unto David, —Whatsoever thy soul shall desire, I will do for thee.
And Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul will tell me, I will do for you.”
5 And David said unto Jonathan—Lo! the new moon, is to-morrow, and, I, must not sit with the king, to eat, —let me go then, and hide myself in the field, until the evening.
Then David said to Jonathan: “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I am accustomed to sit in a seat beside the king to eat. Therefore, permit me that I may be hidden in the field, until the evening of the third day.
6 If thy father, enquire, for me, then shalt thou say—David, did ask leave, of me, to run to Bethlehem, his own city, for, a yearly sacrifice, [is to be held] there for all the family.
If your father, looking around, will seek me, you shall respond to him: ‘David asked me if he may hurry to Bethlehem, his own city. For there are solemn sacrifices in that place for all of his tribe together.’
7 If, thus, he say—It is well, —thy servant shall have, peace, —but, if it, anger, him, know that harm hath been determined by him.
If he will say, ‘It is well,’ then your servant will have peace. But if he will be angry, know that his malice has reached its height.
8 Thus shalt thou do a lovingkindness for thy servant, for, into a covenant of Yahweh, hast thou brought thy servant, with thee, —But, if there is in me transgression, put me to death, thyself, for, unto thy father, wherefore shouldst thou bring me in?
Therefore, show mercy to your servant. For you have brought me, your servant, into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is any iniquity in me, you may kill me, and you shall not lead me in to your father.”
9 And Jonathan said—Far be it from thee! but, if I, get to know, that harm is determined by my father, to bring it upon thee, is not, that, the thing that I will tell thee?
And Jonathan said: “May this be far from you. For certainly, if I ever realized that any wickedness was determined by my father against you, I would not be able to do anything other than report it to you.”
10 Then said David unto Jonathan, Who shall tell me, —if thy father answer thee aught that is, harsh?
And David responded to Jonathan, “Who will repeat it to me, if your father may perhaps answer you harshly about me?”
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come! and let us go out into the field. And they two went out into the field.
And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” And when they both had gone out into the field,
12 Then said Jonathan unto David—Witness [be] Yahweh God of Israel, that I will sound my father about this time to-morrow or the third day, and lo! if there he good towards David, will I not, then, send unto thee, and unveil thine ear?
Jonathan said before David: “O Lord, God of Israel, if I will discover a decision by my father, tomorrow, or the day after, and if there will be anything good concerning David, and yet I do not immediately send to you and make it known to you,
13 So, let Yahweh do unto Jonathan, and, so, let him add—when harm against thee seemeth good unto my father, then will I unveil thine ear, and let thee go, and thou shall depart in peace, —then Yahweh be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
may the Lord do these things to Jonathan, and may he add these other things. But if my father will have persevered in malice against you, I will reveal it to your ear, and I will send you away, so that you may go in peace, and so that the Lord may be with you, just as he was with my father.
14 And, not only while I yet live, shalt thou deal with me in the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I die not:
And if I live, you shall show the mercy of the Lord to me. Yet truly, if I die,
15 but thou shalt not cut off thy lovingkindness from my house, unto times age-abiding, —no! not when Yahweh hath cut off the enemies of David, every one from off the face of the ground.
you shall not take away your mercy from my house, even forever, when the Lord will have rooted out the enemies of David, each and every one of them, from the earth. May he take Jonathan from his house, and may the Lord require it from the hands of the enemies of David.”
16 Thus Jonathan solemnised a covenant with the house of David [saying], —So let Yahweh require it, at the hand of the enemies of David.
Therefore, Jonathan formed a covenant with the house of David. And the Lord required it from the hands of the enemies of David.
17 And again Jonathan sware unto David, by his love to him, —for, as he loved his own soul, so loved he him.
And Jonathan continued to swear to David, because he loved him. For he loved him like his own soul.
18 Then said Jonathan unto him—To-morrow, is the new moon, and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty;
And Jonathan said to him: “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be sought.
19 and, when thou hast tarried three days, thou shalt come down quickly and enter the place, where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the deed, and shall remain by the side of this mound.
For your seat will be empty until the day after tomorrow. Therefore, you shall descend quickly, and you shall go to the place where you are to be hidden, on a day when it is lawful to work, and you shall remain beside the stone that is called Ezel.
20 And, as for me—three arrows to the side, will I shoot, —as though I shot at a mark.
And I will shoot three arrows near it, and I will cast them as if I were practicing for myself toward a mark.
21 And lo! I will send the boy [saying], Go, find the arrow! If I, say, to the boy—Lo! the arrows, are on this side of thee—take them, then come, for there is peace for thee, and no cause [for fear], by the life of Yahweh.
Also, I will send a boy, saying to him, ‘Go and bring the arrows to me.’
22 But, if, thus, I say to the youth, Lo! the arrows are beyond thee, depart, for Yahweh hath sent thee away.
If I will say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are before you, take them up,’ you shall approach before me, because there is peace for you, and there is nothing evil, as the Lord lives. But if I will have spoken to the boy in this way, ‘Behold, the arrows are away from you,’ then you shall go away in peace, for the Lord has released you.
23 But, as touching the matter whereof we spake—I and thou, lo! Yahweh, be betwixt me and thee, unto times age-abiding.
Now about the word that you and I have spoken, may the Lord be between you and me, even forever.”
24 So David hid himself in the field—and, when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat, food,
Therefore, David was hidden in the field. And the new moon came, and the king sat down to eat bread.
25 yea the king sat down on his seat, as at other times, by the seat against the wall, and, when Jonathan arose, Abner seated himself by the side of Saul, —but David’s place was empty.
And when the king had sat down on his chair, (according to custom) which was beside the wall, Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat beside Saul, and David’s place appeared empty.
26 Saul, however, spake nothing that day, —for he said to himself—It is, an accident, he is, not clean, because he hath not been cleansed.
And Saul did not say anything on that day. For he was thinking that perhaps something happened to him, so that he was not clean, or not purified.
27 And it came to pass, on the morrow, the second of the month, that David’s place was empty, —and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore hath not the son of Jesse come in, either yesterday or to-day, to meat?
And when the second day after the new moon had begun to dawn, David’s place again appeared empty. And Saul said to Jonathan, his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not arrived to eat, neither yesterday, nor today?”
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, —David, asked leave, of me, [to go] as far as Bethlehem;
And Jonathan responded to Saul, “He petitioned me earnestly that he might go to Bethlehem,
29 and said—Let me go, I pray thee, for, a family sacrifice, have we in the city, and my brethren have commanded me, now, therefore, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me slip away, I pray thee, that I may see my brethren. For this cause, hath he not come in unto the table of the king.
and he said: ‘Permit me. For there is a solemn sacrifice in the city. One of my brothers has summoned me. Now therefore, if I have found favor in your eyes, I will go quickly, and I will see my brothers.’ For this reason, he has not come to the table of the king.”
30 Then was Saul’s anger kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of rebellious perversity! do I not know that thou art, confederate, with the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and to the confusion of the shame of thy mother?
Then Saul, becoming angry against Jonathan, said to him: “You son of a woman wantonly seizing a man! Could I be ignorant that you love the son of Jesse, to your own shame, and to the shame of your disgraceful mother?
31 For, as long as, the son of Jesse, liveth on the ground, thou wilt not be established, thou nor thy kingdom, Now, therefore, send and fetch him unto me, for, doomed to death, is he!
For all the days that the son of Jesse moves upon earth, neither you, nor your kingdom, will be secure. And so, send and bring him to me, here and now. For he is a son of death.”
32 And Jonathan responded to Saul his father, —and said unto him—Wherefore must he be put to death, What hath he done?
Then Jonathan, answering his father Saul, said: “Why should he die? What has he done?”
33 And Saul hurled his spear at him, to smite him. So Jonathan knew that it was, determined, of his father, to put David to death.
And Saul picked up a lance, so that he might strike him. And Jonathan understood that it had been decided by his father that David be put to death.
34 Jonathan therefore rose up from the table, in a glow of anger, —and did eat no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had reviled him.
Therefore, Jonathan rose up from the table in a rage of anger. And he did not eat bread on the second day after the new moon. For he was saddened over David, because his father had confounded him.
35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went forth into the field, to the place appointed with David, —a little lad, being with him.
And when the morning had begun to dawn, Jonathan went into the field according to the agreement with David, and a young boy was with him.
36 And he said to his lad—Run, find, I pray thee, the arrows which I am about to shoot. The boy, ran, but, he, shot the arrow beyond him.
And he said to his boy, “Go, and bring to me the arrows that I shoot.” And when the boy had run, he shot another arrow away from the boy.
37 And, when the lad came as far as the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow, beyond, thee?
And so, the boy went to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot. And Jonathan cried out, from behind the back of boy, and said: “Behold, the arrow is there, farther away from you.”
38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Haste thee—be quick, do not stay! so Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrows and brought [them] unto his master.
And Jonathan cried out again, from behind the back of the boy, saying, “Go quickly! Do not stand still!” Then Jonathan’s boy collected the arrows, and he brought them to his lord.
39 But, the lad, knew, nothing, only Jonathan and David, knew the matter.
And he did not understand at all what was happening. For only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 So Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad, and said to him, Go carry them into the city.
Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy, and he said to him, “Go, and carry them into the city.”
41 As soon as, the lad, was gone, David, arose from beside the South, and fell on his face to the earth, and bowed himself down three times, —and they kissed each other, and wept over each other, until, David, exceeded.
And when the boy had gone away, David rose up from his place, which turned toward the south, and falling prone on the ground, he reverenced three times. And kissing one another, they wept together, but David more so.
42 Then said Jonathan unto David—Go in peace, —[remembering] that, we, have both sworn in the name of Yahweh, saying, Yahweh shall be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed, unto times age-abiding. And he arose, and departed, —and, Jonathan, entered the city.
Then Jonathan said to David: “Go in peace. And let us both keep all that we have ever sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, even forever.’” And David rose up and went away. But Jonathan entered into the city.
