³ “Of course you don’t know about it!” David fumed. “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I’ll not tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But the truth is that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”

¹³ If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don’t tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. ¹⁴ And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime, ¹⁵ but also to my children after the Lord has destroyed all of your enemies.”

¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise. ¹⁷ But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.