1 Samuel
Chapter 20
1 David ran away from Naioth in Ramah, went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my wrong? Why does your father want to kill me?”
2 He said to him, “God won’t let it happen; you won’t die. Look, my father won’t do anything, big or small, without telling me. And why would my father keep this from me? It’s not true.”
3 David promised again and said, “Your father knows well that you like me; and he says, ‘Don’t tell Jonathan, so he won’t be sad.’ But as surely as God lives, and as you are alive, I am only a step away from death.”
4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your heart wants, I will do it for you.”
5 David said to Jonathan, “Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I’m expected to eat with the king. But let me go and hide in the field until the evening of the third day.”
6 If your father notices I’m gone, say, “David really needed to go to Bethlehem, his hometown, because there’s an annual family sacrifice there.”
7 If he says all is well, your servant will be at peace; but if he’s really angry, then know he’s planning something bad.
8 So you should treat your servant well, because you have made a promise to God with me. But if I’ve done something wrong, you should punish me yourself; why would you take me to your father?
9 Jonathan said, “Don’t think that! If I knew for sure that my father planned to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
10 Then David asked Jonathan, “Who will let me know? Or what if your father speaks to you harshly?”
11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on, let’s go to the field.” So both of them went to the field.
12 Jonathan said to David, “God of Israel, when I talk to my father tomorrow or the day after, if he feels kindly toward David and I don’t send you a message to let you know, then…”
13 God will deal with Jonathan severely if he doesn’t, but if my father intends to harm you, I will tell you and let you leave safely. May God be with you as He was with my father.
14 While I am still alive, you must show me God’s kindness, so I will not die.
15 But you must not stop being kind to my family forever, not even when God has removed all David’s enemies from the earth.
16 Jonathan made a promise with David’s family, saying, “Let God hold David’s enemies responsible.”
17 Jonathan made David promise again, because he loved him as much as he loved himself.
18 Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty.”
19 After you’ve stayed for three days, go down fast and go to the place where you hid before, and stay near the stone Ezel.
20 I will shoot three arrows to the side, as if I were aiming at a target.
21 Look, I will send a boy, telling him, ‘Go, look for the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are near you, get them,’ then you come back; it means you are safe and nothing is wrong; as God lives.
22 If I tell the young man, ‘The arrows are past you,’ then leave, because God has sent you away.
23 About the issue we talked about, remember, God will be between you and me forever.
24 David hid in the field, and when the new moon arrived, the king sat down to eat.
25 The king sat on his throne as usual, next to the wall. Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s spot was empty.
26 Saul said nothing that day because he thought, “Something has happened to him; he’s not pure; surely he’s not pure.”
27 The next day, the second day of the month, David’s seat was empty. Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t Jesse’s son come to eat, neither yesterday nor today?”
28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David really asked for my permission to go to Bethlehem.”
29 He said, “Please let me go, because our family has a sacrifice in the city; my brother told me to come, and if you’re okay with it, please let me go and see my brothers.” That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.
30 Saul got angry at Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a stubborn and rebellious woman, don’t I know you’ve picked Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the shame of your mother?”
31 As long as Jesse’s son lives, you will not secure your position or your kingdom. So send for him now, because he must die.
32 Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should he be killed? What did he do?”
33 Saul threw a spear at him to hit him: by this Jonathan knew that his father had decided to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table very angry and didn’t eat anything on the second day of the month because he was upset about David, since his father had embarrassed him.
35 In the morning, Jonathan went to the field at the scheduled time with David and a young boy with him.
36 He told his boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” While the boy was running, he shot an arrow past him.
37 When the boy reached the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to him, “Isn’t the arrow farther than where you are?”
38 Jonathan called out to the boy, “Hurry, run fast, don’t stop.” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrows and went back to him.
39 The boy didn’t know anything; only Jonathan and David knew about it.
40 Jonathan gave his weapons to his young servant and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.”
41 As soon as the boy left, David got up from the southern side, bowed down with his face to the ground three times, and they hugged and cried together until David was overwhelmed.
42 Jonathan told David, “Go in peace, because we both promised in God’s name, saying, ‘God be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the city.