³ Then Jonathan and David made a ^(A)covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, ^(A)“Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.’ ” So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

⁸ Therefore you shall ^(A)deal kindly with your servant, for ^(B)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, ^(C)if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?”

⁹ But Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you?”

¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly?”

¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. ¹² Then Jonathan said to David: “The Lord God of Israel is witness! When I have ^[a]sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, ¹³ may ^(D)the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And ^(E)the Lord be with you as He has ^(F)been with my father. ¹⁴ And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; ¹⁵ but ^(G)you shall not ^[b]cut off your kindness from my ^[c]house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the ^[d]house of David, saying, ^(H)“Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.”

¹⁷ Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; ^(I)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

⁷ But the king spared ^(A)Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of ^(B)the Lord’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

David’s Kindness to Mephibosheth

9 Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may ^(A)show him ^[a]kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”

² And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was ^(B)Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”

He said, “At your service!”

³ Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show ^(C)the kindness of God?”

And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is ^(D)lame in his feet.”

¹⁸ So the two of them ^(A)made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.