1 Samuel 19
New American Standard Bible
David Protected from Saul
19 Now Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants (A)to put David to death. But (B)Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. 2 So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is seeking to put you to death. Now then, please be on your guard in the morning, and stay in a hiding place and conceal yourself. 3 And as for me, I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are hiding, and I will speak with my father about you; and (C)whatever I [a]find out, I will tell you.” 4 Then Jonathan (D)spoke well of David to his father Saul and said to him, “(E)May the king not sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his deeds have been very [b]beneficial to you. 5 For (F)he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and (G)the Lord brought about a great [c]victory for all Israel; you saw it and rejoiced. (H)Why then would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death [d]for no reason?” 6 Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul vowed, “As the Lord lives, David shall not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as (I)before.
8 When there was war again, David went out and fought the Philistines and [e]defeated them with great slaughter, so that they fled from him. 9 Now there was (J)an evil spirit from the Lord on Saul as he was sitting in his house (K)with his spear in his hand, (L)and David was playing the harp with his hand. 10 (M)And Saul tried to [f]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, so that he stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.
11 Then (N)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, informed him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death!” 12 (O)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went and fled, and escaped. 13 And Michal took (P)the [g]household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head, and covered it with clothing. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “(Q)He is sick.” 15 Then Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on [h]his bed, so that I may put him to death.” 16 When the messengers entered, behold, the [i]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. 17 So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! (R)Why should I put you to death?’”
18 So David fled and escaped, and came (S)to Samuel at Ramah; and he informed him of everything that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in (T)Naioth. 19 But it was reported to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then (U)Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw (V)the company of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and (W)they also prophesied. 21 When Saul was informed of this, he sent other messengers, but they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, yet they prophesied. 22 Then he went to Ramah himself and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he [j]asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he [k]proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; but (X)the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and [l]lay down [m](Y)naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “(Z)Is Saul also among the prophets?”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 19:3 Lit see
- 1 Samuel 19:4 Lit good
- 1 Samuel 19:5 Lit deliverance
- 1 Samuel 19:5 Or undeservedly
- 1 Samuel 19:8 Lit struck
- 1 Samuel 19:10 Lit strike David and the wall
- 1 Samuel 19:13 Heb teraphim
- 1 Samuel 19:15 Lit the
- 1 Samuel 19:16 Heb teraphim
- 1 Samuel 19:22 Lit asked and said
- 1 Samuel 19:23 Lit went
- 1 Samuel 19:24 Lit fell
- 1 Samuel 19:24 I.e., without outward garments
1 Samuel 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jonathan Intercedes for David
19 Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul’s son Jonathan took great delight in David.(A) 2 Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself. 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you.”(B) 4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you and because his deeds have been of good service to you,(C) 5 for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?”(D) 6 Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” 7 So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.(E)
Michal Helps David Escape from Saul
8 Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music.(F) 10 Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.(G)
11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” 12 So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped.(H) 13 Michal took an idol[a] and laid it on the bed; she put a net[b] of goats’ hair on its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, “He is sick.”(I) 15 Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” 16 When the messengers came in, the idol[c] was in the bed, with the covering[d] of goats’ hair on its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’ ”
David Joins Samuel in Ramah
18 Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.(J) 19 Saul was told, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 Then Saul sent messengers to take David. When they saw the company of the prophets in a frenzy, with Samuel standing in charge of[e] them, the spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy.(K) 21 When Saul was told, he sent other messengers, and they also fell into a frenzy. Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also fell into a frenzy. 22 Then he himself went to Ramah. He came to the great well that is in Secu; he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 He went there, toward Naioth in Ramah, and the spirit of God came upon him. As he was going, he fell into a prophetic frenzy, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.(L) 24 He, too, stripped off his clothes, and he, too, fell into a frenzy before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all that night. Therefore it is said, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.