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?
And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is my iniquity? and what is my sin before 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, Far be it from thee; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it to me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
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 David swore moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thy eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he should be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
4 And Jonathan said unto David, —Whatsoever thy soul shall desire, I will do for thee.
Then said Jonathan to David, Whatever thy soul desireth, I will even do it 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, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at the table: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening.
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 shall at all 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.
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 thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he shall be very angry, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
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 thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: however, if there is in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me 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 it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil is determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
10 Then said David unto Jonathan, Who shall tell me, —if thy father answer thee aught that is, harsh?
Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father shall answer thee roughly?
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 they went out both of them 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?
And Jonathan said to David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and show it 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.
The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it shall please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it to thee, and 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 thou shalt not only while yet I live show me the kindness of the LORD, that I may not 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.
But also thou shalt not withdraw thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
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.
So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand 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 caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved 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;
Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
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.
And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone 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 on the side of it, as though I shot 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, behold, I will send a 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 thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.
22 But, if, thus, I say to the youth, Lo! the arrows are beyond thee, depart, for Yahweh hath sent thee away.
But if I say thus to the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: 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 as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, 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 hid himself in the field: and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat food.
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 the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was 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.
Nevertheless Saul spoke not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
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 it came to pass on the next day, which was the second day of the month, that David’s place was empty: and Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why cometh not the son of Jesse to eat, neither yesterday, nor to day?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, —David, asked leave, of me, [to go] as far as Bethlehem;
And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me 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, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thy eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh 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’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thy own shame, and to the shame of thy mother’s nakedness?
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 Jesse liveth upon the earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Therefore now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.
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 answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why shall he be slain? 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 cast a javelin at him to smite him: by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to slay 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 arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
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 it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad 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 lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
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 when the lad had come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow 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 after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 But, the lad, knew, nothing, only Jonathan and David, knew the matter.
But the lad knew not any thing: 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.
And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to 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 as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward 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, 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.
And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as 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 he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
