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1 Samuel 20
New English Translation

Jonathan Seeks to Protect David

20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked,[a] “What have I done? What is my offense?[b] How have I sinned before your father, that he is seeking my life?”

2 Jonathan[c] said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing[d] large or small without making me aware of it.[e] Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

3 Taking an oath, David again[f] said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact[g] that I have found favor with you, and he has thought,[h] ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!” 4 Jonathan replied to David, “Tell me what I can do for you.”[i]

5 David said to Jonathan, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal.[j] You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, ‘David urgently requested me to let him go[k] to his town Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.’ 7 If he should then say, ‘That’s fine,’[l] then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me.[m] 8 You must be loyal[n] to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord’s name.[o] If I am guilty,[p] you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?”

9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?” 10 David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come on. Let’s go out to the field.”

When the two of them had gone out into the field, 12 Jonathan said to David, “The Lord God of Israel is my witness![q] I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know?[r] 13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don’t let you know[s] and send word to you, so you can go safely on your way.[t] May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die. 15 Don’t ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth 16 and called David’s enemies to account.” So Jonathan made a covenant[u] with the house of David.[v] 17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life.[w] 18 Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day[x] you should go down quickly[y] and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started.[z] Stay near the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, ‘Go and find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you;[aa] get them,’ then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will be no problem. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,’[ab] then get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever.”[ac]

24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him[ad] and Abner at his side.[ae] But David’s place was vacant. 26 However, Saul said nothing about it[af] that day, for he thought,[ag] “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”

28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Permit me to go,[ah] for we are having a family sacrifice in the town, and my brother urged[ai] me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go[aj] to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

30 Saul became angry with Jonathan[ak] and said to him, “You stupid traitor![al] Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 31 For as long as[am] this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men[an] and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!”[ao]

32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan[ap] in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced[aq] that his father had decided to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.[ar]

35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan[as] shot the arrow beyond him. 37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to[at] the servant, “Isn’t the arrow farther beyond you?” 38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)[au] 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the town.”

41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound,[av] knelt[aw] with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”

David Goes to Nob

(21:1)[ax] Then David[ay] got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the town of Naioth.[az]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 20:1 tn Heb “and he came and said before Jonathan.”
  2. 1 Samuel 20:1 tn Heb “What is my guilt?”
  3. 1 Samuel 20:2 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 1 Samuel 20:2 tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).
  5. 1 Samuel 20:2 tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”
  6. 1 Samuel 20:3 tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”
  7. 1 Samuel 20:3 tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
  8. 1 Samuel 20:3 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.
  9. 1 Samuel 20:4 tn Heb “whatever your soul says, I will do for you.”
  10. 1 Samuel 20:5 tn Heb “and I must surely sit with the king to eat.” The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.
  11. 1 Samuel 20:6 tn Heb “to run.”
  12. 1 Samuel 20:7 tn Heb “good.”
  13. 1 Samuel 20:7 tn Heb “know that the evil is completed from with him.”
  14. 1 Samuel 20:8 tn Heb “and you must do loyalty.”
  15. 1 Samuel 20:8 tn Heb “for into a covenant of the Lord you have brought your servant with you.”
  16. 1 Samuel 20:8 tn Heb “and if there is in me guilt.”
  17. 1 Samuel 20:12 tc The Hebrew text has simply “the Lord God of Israel.” On the basis of the Syriac version, many reconstruct the text to read “[is] my witness,” which may have fallen out of the text by homoioarcton (an error which is entirely possible if עֵד (ʿed, “witness,”) immediately followed דָּוִד, “David,” in the original text).
  18. 1 Samuel 20:12 tn Heb “and uncover your ear.”
  19. 1 Samuel 20:13 tn Heb “uncover your ear.”
  20. 1 Samuel 20:13 tn Heb “in peace.”
  21. 1 Samuel 20:16 tn Heb “cut.” The object of the verb (“covenant”) must be supplied.
  22. 1 Samuel 20:16 tn The word order is different in the Hebrew text, which reads “and Jonathan cut with the house of David, and the Lord will seek from the hand of the enemies of David.” The translation assumes that the main clauses of the verse have been accidentally transposed in the course of transmission. The first part of the verse (as it stands in MT) belongs with v. 17, while the second part of the verse actually continues v. 15.
  23. 1 Samuel 20:17 tn Heb “for [with] the love of his [own] life he loved him.”
  24. 1 Samuel 20:19 tc Heb “you will do [something] a third time.” The translation assumes an emendation of the verb from שִׁלַּשְׁתָּ (shillashta, “to do a third time”) to שִׁלִּישִׁית (shillishit, “[on the] third [day]”).
  25. 1 Samuel 20:19 tn Heb “you must go down greatly.” See Judg 19:11 for the same idiom.
  26. 1 Samuel 20:19 tn Heb “on the day of the deed.” This probably refers to the incident recorded in 19:2.
  27. 1 Samuel 20:21 tn Heb “from you and here.”
  28. 1 Samuel 20:22 tn Heb “from you and onward.”
  29. 1 Samuel 20:23 tc Heb “the Lord [is] between me and between you forever.” The translation assumes that the original text read עֵד עַד־עוֹלָם (ʿed ʿad ʿolam), “a witness forever,” with the noun “a witness” accidentally falling out of the text by haplography. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
  30. 1 Samuel 20:25 tc Heb “and Jonathan arose.” Instead of MT’s וַיָּקָם (vayyaqom, “and he arose”; from the hollow verbal root קוּם, qum), the translation assumes a reading וַיְקַדֵּם (vayeqaddem, “and he was in front of”; from the verbal root קָדַם, qadam). See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 338.
  31. 1 Samuel 20:25 tn Heb “and Abner sat at the side of Saul.”
  32. 1 Samuel 20:26 tn The words “about it” are not present in the Hebrew text, although they are implied.
  33. 1 Samuel 20:26 tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself.
  34. 1 Samuel 20:29 tn Heb “send me.”
  35. 1 Samuel 20:29 tn Heb “commanded.”
  36. 1 Samuel 20:29 tn Heb “be released [from duty].”
  37. 1 Samuel 20:30 tc Many medieval Hebrew mss include the words “his son” here.
  38. 1 Samuel 20:30 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
  39. 1 Samuel 20:31 tn Heb “all the days that.”
  40. 1 Samuel 20:31 tn The words “some men” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  41. 1 Samuel 20:31 tn Heb “a son of death.”
  42. 1 Samuel 20:33 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  43. 1 Samuel 20:33 tn Heb “knew.”
  44. 1 Samuel 20:34 tn Heb “for he was upset concerning David for his father had humiliated him.” The referent of the pronoun “him” is not entirely clear, but the phrase “concerning David” suggests that it refers to David, rather than Jonathan.
  45. 1 Samuel 20:36 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  46. 1 Samuel 20:37 tn Heb “called after” (also in v. 38).
  47. 1 Samuel 20:39 tn Heb “knew the matter.”
  48. 1 Samuel 20:41 tc The translation follows the LXX in reading “the mound,” rather than the MT’s “the south.” It is hard to see what meaning the MT reading “from beside the south” would have as it stands, since such a location lacks specificity. The NIV treats it as an elliptical expression, rendering the phrase as “from the south side of the stone (rock NCV).” This is perhaps possible, but it seems better to follow the LXX rather than the MT here.
  49. 1 Samuel 20:41 tn Heb “fell.”
  50. 1 Samuel 20:42 sn Beginning with 20:42b, the verse numbers through 21:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 20:42b ET = 21:1 HT, 21:1 ET = 21:2 HT, 21:2 ET = 21:3 HT, etc., through 21:15 ET = 21:16 HT. With 22:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  51. 1 Samuel 20:42 tn Heb “he”; the referent (David) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  52. 1 Samuel 20:42 tn The words “of Naioth” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied for clarity.
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撒母耳记上 20
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)

大卫与约拿单

20 大卫从拉玛的拿约逃出来去见约拿单，问他：“我做了什么？犯了什么罪？我什么地方对不起你父亲，他竟追杀我？” 2 约拿单答道：“绝无此事，你不会死的！我父亲事无大小都会告诉我的，他不会瞒着我这件事，不会的。” 3 大卫发誓说：“你父亲深知你恩待我，他为了不使你伤心，才瞒着你。但我凭永活的耶和华和你的性命起誓，我离死亡仅一步之遥！” 4 约拿单说：“你有什么需要？我一定相助。” 5 大卫答道：“明天是初一，我本该跟王一起用餐，请让我躲到田间，直到第三天晚上。 6 如果你父亲问起我，你就说我恳求你允许我回到故乡伯利恒，因为我全家正在那里献年祭。 7 如果你父亲说‘好吧’，仆人就平安无事了。如果他发怒，就表示他决意要杀我。 8 请你善待仆人，因你与我在耶和华面前立了盟约。如果我有罪，就请你亲手杀了我，何必把我交给你父亲呢？” 9 约拿单答道：“我决不会这样做。如果我知道我父亲决意要杀你，我怎能不通知你呢？” 10 大卫说：“你父亲若向你发怒，谁来告诉我呢？” 11 约拿单说：“我们一起到田野去吧。”于是，二人一起去了田野。

12 约拿单对大卫说：“愿以色列的上帝耶和华作证，明天或后天这个时侯我就会打探到我父亲的意思，如果他善意待你，我会派人通知你。 13 如果他有意杀你，而我却不告诉你让你安然逃走，愿耶和华重重地惩罚我。愿耶和华与你同在，像从前与我父亲同在一样。 14 在我有生之年，请你照耶和华的慈爱恩待我，免我一死。 15 在我死后，即使耶和华把你所有的仇敌都毁灭了，请你仍旧恩待我的后人。” 16 于是，约拿单与大卫家立下盟约，说：“倘若大卫不守盟约，愿耶和华借着仇敌惩罚他。” 17 约拿单因为像爱自己一样爱大卫，便叫他再次起誓。 18 约拿单说：“明天是初一，人们会注意到你缺席。 19 到了后天，你要赶快去上次出事时躲藏的以色磐石那里。 20 我会朝磐石的旁边射三箭，好像射靶子。 21 然后，我会叫一个少年把箭拾回来。如果你听到我对他说，‘箭就在你旁边，把箭拾回来。’那就表示你可以回来了，我凭永活的耶和华起誓，你必平安无事。 22 但如果我对少年说，‘箭就在你前面。’你就要离开，因为是耶和华要你离开。 23 至于我们之间所立的约，耶和华永远为我们作证。”

24 于是，大卫就躲到田野。初一到了，扫罗王入席吃饭， 25 他照常坐在靠墙的位置，约拿单坐在对面，押尼珥坐在王的身边，大卫的位子空着。 26 那一天，扫罗并没有说什么，他以为大卫可能遇到了使自己不洁净的事，不能赴宴。 27 可是到了第二天，大卫的座位还是空的，扫罗就问儿子约拿单：“耶西的儿子为什么这两天都不来赴宴呢？” 28 约拿单答道：“大卫恳求我让他回到伯利恒， 29 因为他家要在城中献祭，他的哥哥要他去。他求我恩准他去见他的哥哥们。所以，他没有来参加王的宴席。”

30 扫罗向约拿单发怒，对他说：“你这邪恶叛逆妇人所生之子！难道我不知道你是站在耶西的儿子那边吗？你这样做不但自取其辱，也使你母亲蒙羞。 31 只要耶西的儿子活在世上，你和你的王位就不得安稳。你派人把他抓到我这里，他非死不可。” 32 约拿单问：“为什么要杀他？他做了什么？”

33 扫罗气得把矛掷向约拿单，想要杀他。约拿单知道父亲决意要杀大卫。 34 他怒气冲冲地离席，整天不肯进食，因为他看见父亲如此卑劣地对待大卫，心里非常难过。 35 第二天早晨，约拿单按照和大卫的约定带着一个少年来到田野。 36 约拿单对少年说：“你跑去把我射的箭拾回来。”少年就向前跑去，约拿单把箭射在他前面。 37 少年跑到落箭之处的时候，约拿单就大声叫道：“箭不是在你的前面吗？ 38 快快去，不要耽延。”少年连忙把箭拾起来，回到主人那里。 39 他不知道主人的用意，只有约拿单和大卫知道。 40 约拿单把弓箭交给那少年，吩咐他带回城中。 41 少年离开以后，大卫就从磐石南面出来，伏地拜了三拜。二人彼此亲吻，抱头痛哭，大卫更是泣不成声。 42 约拿单说：“我们已凭耶和华的名起誓，有耶和华在你我和你我的子孙之间永远为我们的盟约作证，你就安心去吧。”大卫便起身离开，约拿单也回城去了。

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