1 Samuel
Chapter 19
1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David.
2 Jonathan, Saul’s son, really liked David. Jonathan warned David, “Saul, my father, wants to kill you. So please be careful and stay hidden in a secret place until morning.”
3 I will go out and stand next to my father in the field where you are, and I will talk to my father about you; and what I see, I will tell you.
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, and said to him, “The king should not do wrong to his servant David; he has not sinned against you, and his actions towards you have been very good.”
5 He risked his life, killed the Philistine, and God saved all Israel; you saw it and were happy. So why would you sin and kill innocent David for no reason?
6 Saul listened to what Jonathan said, and Saul promised, saying, “As God lives, he will not be killed.”
7 Jonathan called David and showed him everything. Jonathan took David to Saul, and David was with Saul as before.
8 War broke out again: David went and fought the Philistines, killed many, and they ran away from him.
9 An evil spirit from God came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in hand, while David played music.
10 Saul tried to hit David with a spear, aiming to pin him to the wall, but David dodged and the spear stuck in the wall. Then David ran away and got away that night.
11 Saul sent people to David’s house to watch and kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you don’t escape tonight, you will be killed tomorrow.”
12 Michal helped David escape by lowering him from a window, and he ran away and got away.
13 Michal took an idol, placed it in the bed, put a goat hair pillow under its head, and covered it with a cloth.
14 When Saul sent people to capture David, she said, “He is sick.”
15 Saul sent his messengers to check on David again, telling them, “Bring him to me in his bed, so I can kill him.”
16 When the messengers entered, they found an idol in the bed with a goat hair pillow as its headrest.
17 Saul asked Michal, “Why did you trick me and let my enemy go so he could escape?” Michal replied to Saul, “He told me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’”
18 David ran away, escaped, and went to Samuel in Ramah to tell him everything Saul had done to him. Then David and Samuel stayed in Naioth.
19 Someone told Saul, “Look, David is in Naioth at Ramah.”
20 Saul sent people to capture David, but when they saw a group of prophets speaking God’s messages and Samuel leading them, God’s Spirit came on Saul’s messengers, and they started to speak God’s messages too.
21 When Saul heard, he sent more messengers, and they also spoke God’s messages. Saul sent messengers a third time, and they spoke God’s messages as well.
22 He also went to Ramah and arrived at a big well in Sechu. He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” Someone replied, “Look, they’re at Naioth in Ramah.”
23 He went to Naioth in Ramah, and God’s Spirit was also upon him. He continued to speak God’s messages until he reached Naioth in Ramah.
24 He also took off his clothes, and before Samuel, he acted like a prophet. He lay there without clothes all day and night. That’s why people ask, “Is Saul also a prophet?”