1 Samuel 20:24-42

Legacy Standard Bible

²⁴ So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ And the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but ^(A)David’s place was missing. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he said, “It is an accident; ^(B)he is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷ Now it happened the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was missing; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ Jonathan then answered Saul, “^(C)David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, ²⁹ and he said, ‘Please send me on my way, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For ^[a]as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send and bring him to me, for ^(D)he ^[b]must surely die.” ³² But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “^(E)Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ Then ^(F)Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; ^(G)so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴ Then Jonathan arose from the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵ Now it happened in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a very young man was with him. ³⁶ And he said to his young man, “^(H)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the young man was running, he shot ^[c]an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the young man reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “^(I)Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s young man gathered up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the young man did not know of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the young man was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his ^[d]face to the ground and ^(J)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but ^(K)David wept more. ⁴² And Jonathan said to David, “^(L)Go in peace, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘^(M)Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever.’” ^[e]Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.