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 Samuel 19:9 Or to Saul
- 1 Samuel 19:18 Or Naioth, also in 19:19, 22-23
- 1 Samuel 19:22 LXX; MT the large well at Secu
1 Samuel 19
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 19
Jonathan Defends David.[a] 1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants that they should kill David, but Jonathan, Saul’s son, was very fond of David. 2 Jonathan informed David about it saying, “Saul, my father, is seeking to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning. Stay in some secret place and hide there. 3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to him about you, and I will tell you what I discover.”
4 Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him, “May the king not wrong his servant David, for he has not wronged you. What he has done has only been to your benefit. 5 He risked his life when he killed the Philistine. The Lord won a great victory for all of Israel. You saw it and you rejoiced. Why would you sin against innocent blood by killing David for no reason?”
6 Saul listened to Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he will not be killed.” 7 Jonathan then called David, and Jonathan informed him about all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as he had been before.
8 War broke out again, and David went out to fight against the Philistines. He struck them down, slaughtering many, and they fled from him.
David Is Saved by Michal. 9 Now an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, and he was sitting in his house, holding a javelin in his hand while David was playing some music. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the javelin, but he eluded Saul, and he drove the javelin into the wall. That night David fled and escaped.
11 [b]Saul sent deputies to David’s house to watch for him and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not save yourself tonight, you will be killed tomorrow.” 12 So Michal lowered David down through a window, and he fled and escaped.
13 Michal took a teraphim and laid it on the bed, and she placed a goat’s hair pillow where his head would be, and she covered it over with clothes.[c] 14 When Saul sent deputies to seize David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Saul sent the deputies back to look for David saying, “Bring him back to me on a litter so I can kill him.” 16 When the deputies arrived, they found the teraphim in the bed with the pillow of goat’s hair where the head would be.
17 Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me by sending away my enemy so that he could escape?” Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go or I will kill you.’ ”
18 David, Samuel, and Saul in Ramah. When David had fled and made his escape, he went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went to Naioth and they stayed there.
19 Saul heard that David was in Naioth in Ramah. 20 [d]He sent deputies to capture David. They saw a band of prophets there prophesying, and Samuel was their leader. The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul’s deputies, and they prophesied as well. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent other deputies, but they prophesied as well. A third time Saul sent deputies, but they also prophesied.
22 Saul and the Prophets. Finally, he himself went to Ramah, and he came to the great well in Secu. He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” Someone told him, “They are at Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he went to Naioth in Ramah, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, too. He walked along, prophesying, until he arrived at Naioth. 24 He stripped off his clothes and he prophesied as he had in Samuel’s presence. He laid down naked all that day and all that night. This is why they say, “Is Saul also one of the prophets?”
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 19:1 This is one tradition about the intervention of David’s friend Jonathan. Another will be found in chapter 20.
- 1 Samuel 19:11 The incident probably occurred during the very night of the wedding, since the passage is in logical continuity with 1 Sam 18:27.
- 1 Samuel 19:13 Since the idol was bald-headed, the goat’s skin was needed to make it look like David.
- 1 Samuel 19:20 Although Saul is filled with jealousy over David’s success, and this is clouding his judgment, he is still able to speak God’s words. The gift of prophecy is given—not for his enhancement—but to communicate God’s thoughts.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
