David and Jonathan's Friendship

18 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan ^(A)loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day ^(B)and would not let him return to his father's house. ³ Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because ^(C)he loved him as his own soul. ⁴ And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

Jonathan Warns David

20 Then David fled from Naioth ^(A)in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” ² And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” ³ But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that ^(B)I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, ^(C)as the Lord lives and ^(D)as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(E)the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, ^(F)that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. ^6 (G)If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run ^(H)to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly ^(I)sacrifice there for all the clan.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that ^(J)harm is determined by him. ⁸ Therefore deal kindly with your servant, ^(K)for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. ^(L)But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that ^(M)it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” ¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.

¹² And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness!^[a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? ¹³ But should it please my father to do you harm, ^(N)the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. ^(O)May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; ^15 (P)and do not cut off^[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ^(Q)“May^[c] the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, ^(R)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, ^(S)“Tomorrow is the new moon, and ^(T)you will be missed, because ^(U)your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.^{[d] 20} And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹ And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, ^(V)as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. ²² But if I say to the youth, ^(W)‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. ^23 (X)And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(Y)the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite,^[e] and Abner sat by Saul's side, ^(Z)but David's place was empty.

²⁶ Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. ^(AA)He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷ But on ^(AB)the second day, the day after the new moon, ^(AC)David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, ^(AD)“David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”

³⁰ Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹ For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” ³² Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, ^(AE)“Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ^33 (AF)But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew ^(AG)that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴ And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. ³⁶ And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷ And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, ^(AH)“Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹ But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰ And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” ⁴¹ And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap^[f] and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. ⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, ^(AI)“Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ^(AJ)‘The Lord shall be between me and you, ^(AK)and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.^[g]

¹⁴ And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country ^(A)of the wilderness of ^(B)Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

Saul Pursues David

¹⁵ David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. ¹⁶ And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. ^(C)Saul my father also knows this.” ^18 (D)And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

David Hears of Saul's Death

1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned ^(A)from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. ² And on the third day, behold, ^(B)a man came from Saul's camp, ^(C)with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, ^(D)he fell to the ground and paid homage. ³ David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ And David said to him, ^(E)“How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” ⁶ And the young man who told him said, ^(F)“By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. ⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ^(G)‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. ^(H)And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹ Then David took hold of his clothes and ^(I)tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And they mourned and wept ^(J)and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. ¹³ And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” ¹⁴ David said to him, “How is it you were not ^(K)afraid to put out your hand to destroy ^(L)the Lord's anointed?” ¹⁵ Then ^(M)David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. ¹⁶ And David said to him, ^(N)“Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed ^(O)the Lord's anointed.’”

David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

¹⁷ And David ^(P)lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, ¹⁸ and he said it^[a] should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in ^(Q)the Book of Jashar.^[b] He said: