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?
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?
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: 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.
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: 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.
4 And Jonathan said unto David, —Whatsoever thy soul shall desire, I will do for thee.
And Jonathan said to David: Whatsoever thy soul shall say to me, I will do for thee.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 shall say, It is well: thy servant shall have peace: but if he be angry, know that his malice is come to 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?
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.
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: 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.
10 Then said David unto Jonathan, Who shall tell me, —if thy father answer thee aught that is, harsh?
And David answered Jonathan: Who shall bring me word, if thy father should answer thee harshly concerning 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 were both of them 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 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,
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 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.
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, thou shalt shew me the kindness of the Lord: but 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.
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.
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.
Jonathan therefore made a covenant with the house of David: and the Lord required it at the hands of David’s enemies.
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 swore again to David, because he loved him: for he loved him as 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 thou wilt be missed:
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 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.
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 will shoot as if I were exercising myself at 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.
And I will send a boy, saying to him: Go and fetch me the arrows.
22 But, if, thus, I say to the youth, Lo! the arrows are beyond thee, depart, for Yahweh hath sent thee away.
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.
23 But, as touching the matter whereof we spake—I and thou, lo! Yahweh, be betwixt me and thee, unto times age-abiding.
And concerning the word which I and thou have spoken, the Lord be between thee and me for ever.
24 So David hid himself in the field—and, when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat, food,
So David was hid 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 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.
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 said nothing that day, for he thought it might have happened to him, that he was not clean, nor 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 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?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, —David, asked leave, of me, [to go] as far as Bethlehem;
And Jonathan answered Saul: He asked leave of me earnestly to 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: 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.
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 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?
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 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.
32 And Jonathan responded to Saul his father, —and said unto him—Wherefore must he be put to death, What hath he done?
And Jonathan answering Saul his father, said: Why shall he die: what hath 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 caught up a spear to strike him. And Jonathan understood that it was determined by his father to kill David.
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.
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.
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 came, Jonathan went into the field, according to the appointment with David, and a little boy 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 fetch me the arrows which I shoot. And when the boy ran, he shot another arrow beyond 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?
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.
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 again after the boy, saying: Make haste speedily, stand not. And Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows, and brought them to his master:
39 But, the lad, knew, nothing, only Jonathan and David, knew the matter.
And he knew not at all what was doing: 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.
Jonathan therefore gave his arms to the boy, and 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 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.
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.
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.
