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1 Samuel 19
New English Translation

Saul Repeatedly Attempts to Take David’s Life

19 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much.[a] 2 So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying[b] to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find[c] a hiding place and stay in seclusion.[d] 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to my father about you. When I find out what the problem is,[e] I will let you know.”

4 So Jonathan spoke on David’s behalf[f] to his father Saul. He said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial[g] for you. 5 He risked his life[h] when he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?”

6 Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice[i] and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly.[j]

8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly,[k] and they ran away from him. 9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon[l] Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre.[m] 10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul’s presence, and the spear drove into the wall.[n] David escaped quickly[o] that night.

11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save yourself[p] tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!” 12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped.

13 Then Michal took a household idol[q] and put it on the bed. She put a quilt[r] made of goats’ hair over its head[s] and then covered the idol with a garment. 14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, “He’s sick.”

15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goats’ hair at its head.

17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!” Michal replied to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!’”[t]

18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19 It was reported to Saul saying, “David is at Naioth in Ramah.” 20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 22 Finally Saul[u] himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” They said, “At Naioth in Ramah.”

23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there[v] naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 19:1 tn Heb “delighted greatly in David.”
  2. 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “seeking.”
  3. 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “stay in.”
  4. 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “and hide yourself.”
  5. 1 Samuel 19:3 tn Heb “when I see.”
  6. 1 Samuel 19:4 tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”
  7. 1 Samuel 19:4 tn Heb “good.”
  8. 1 Samuel 19:5 tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”
  9. 1 Samuel 19:6 tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”
  10. 1 Samuel 19:7 tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”
  11. 1 Samuel 19:8 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
  12. 1 Samuel 19:9 tn Heb “[was] to.”
  13. 1 Samuel 19:9 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
  14. 1 Samuel 19:10 tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”
  15. 1 Samuel 19:10 tn Heb “fled and escaped.”
  16. 1 Samuel 19:11 tn Heb “your life.”
  17. 1 Samuel 19:13 tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.
  18. 1 Samuel 19:13 tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goats’ hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”
  19. 1 Samuel 19:13 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
  20. 1 Samuel 19:17 tn Heb “Send me away! Why should I kill you?” The question has the force of a threat in this context. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 325-26.
  21. 1 Samuel 19:22 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). The referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. 1 Samuel 19:24 tn Heb “and he fell down.”
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1 Samuel 19
Common English Bible

David escapes Saul

19 Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, liked David very much. 2 So Jonathan warned David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Be on guard tomorrow morning. Stay somewhere safe and hide. 3 I’ll go out and stand by my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll talk to my father about you, and I’ll tell you whatever I find out.”

4 So Jonathan spoke highly about David to his father Saul, telling him, “The king shouldn’t do anything wrong to his servant David, because he hasn’t wronged you. In fact, his actions have helped you greatly. 5 He risked his own life when he killed that Philistine, and the Lord won a great victory for all Israel. You saw it and were happy about it. Why then would you do something wrong to an innocent person by killing David for no reason?”

6 Saul listened to Jonathan and then swore, “As surely as the Lord lives, David won’t be executed.” 7 So Jonathan summoned David and told him everything they had talked about. Then Jonathan brought David back to Saul, and David served Saul as he had previously.

8 War broke out again. When David went out to fight the Philistines, he struck them with such force that they ran from him.

9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came over Saul.[a] He was sitting in his house with his spear in hand while David was playing music. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with his spear, but David escaped Saul. Saul drove the spear into the wall, but David fled and got away safely. That night 11 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch on it and kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you don’t escape with your life tonight, you are a dead man tomorrow.” 12 So Michal lowered David through a window. He took off and ran, and he got away. 13 Then Michal took the household’s divine image and laid it in the bed, putting some goat’s hair on its head and covering it with clothes.

14 Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, “He’s sick.”

15 Saul sent the messengers back to check on David for themselves. “Bring him to me on his bed,” he ordered, “so he can be executed.” 16 When the messengers arrived, they found the idol in the bed with the goat’s hair on its head. 17 Saul said to Michal, “Why could you betray me like this, letting my enemy go so that now he has escaped?”

Michal said to Saul, “David told me, ‘Help me get away or I’ll kill you!’”

18 So David fled and escaped. When he reached Samuel at Ramah, he reported to him everything Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in the camps.[b]

19 When Saul was told that David was in the camps at Ramah, 20 he sent messengers to arrest David. They saw a group of prophets in a prophetic frenzy, with Samuel standing there as their leader. God’s spirit came over Saul’s messengers, and they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. 21 This was reported to Saul, and he sent different messengers, but they also fell into a prophetic frenzy. So Saul sent a third group of messengers, and they did the very same thing.

22 At that point, Saul went to Ramah himself. He came to the well at the threshing floor that was on the bare hill there[c] and asked, “Where are Samuel and David?”

“In the camps at Ramah,” he was told. 23 So Saul went to the camps at Ramah, and God’s spirit came over him too. So as he traveled, he was in a prophetic frenzy until he reached the camps at Ramah. 24 He even took off all his clothes and fell into a prophetic frenzy in front of Samuel. He lay naked that whole day and night. That’s why people say, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”

Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 19:9 Or to Saul
  2. 1 Samuel 19:18 Or Naioth, also in 19:19, 22-23
  3. 1 Samuel 19:22 LXX; MT the large well at Secu
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