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/Chapter 20

20 / 31

1 Samuel

ESV

Chapter 20

¹Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” ²And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” ³But David vowed again, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” ⁴Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” ⁵David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I ought to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third evening. ⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ ⁷If he says, ‘Good!’ your servant will be safe. But if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. ⁸Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” ⁹And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that harm was determined by my father to come upon you, would I not tell you?” ¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field. ¹²And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the day after, if behold, he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? ¹³But should it please my father to do you harm, the LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴If I am still alive, show me, may I not die, the steadfast love of the LORD; ¹⁵and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD require it at the hands of David's enemies.” ¹⁷And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. ¹⁸Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the business began, and remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹And behold, I will send the young man, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; take them,’ then come, for as the LORD lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. ²²But if I say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the LORD has sent you away. ²³And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the LORD is between you and me forever.” ²⁴So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty. ²⁶Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was still empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. If now I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.” ³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” ³²Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴And Jonathan rose 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 disgraced him. ³⁵In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little young man. ³⁶And he said to his young man, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the young man ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷When the young man came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the young man, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸And Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry! Make haste! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's young man gathered up the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹But the young man knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons to the young man and said to him, “Go, carry them to the city.” ⁴¹As soon as the young man had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. ⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. ⁴³And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.