1 Samuel 19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 19
Persecution of David. 1 Saul discussed his intention to kill David with his son Jonathan and with all his servants. But Saul’s son Jonathan, who was very fond of David,(A) 2 told him: “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning; stay out of sight and remain in hiding. 3 I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know.”
4 Jonathan then spoke well of David to his father Saul, telling him: “The king should not harm his servant David. He has not harmed you, but has helped you very much by his deeds.[a] 5 When he took his life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord won a great victory for all Israel, you were glad to see it. Why, then, should you become guilty of shedding innocent blood by killing David without cause?”(B) 6 Saul heeded Jonathan’s plea and swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be killed.” 7 So Jonathan summoned David and repeated the whole conversation to him. He then brought David to Saul, and David served him as before.
David Escapes from Saul. 8 When war broke out again, David went out to fight against the Philistines and inflicted such a great defeat upon them that they fled from him. 9 (C)Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with spear in hand while David was playing the harp nearby. 10 Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear, but David eluded Saul, and the spear struck only the wall, while David got away safely.
11 The same night, Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it, planning to kill him in the morning. David’s wife Michal informed him, “Unless you run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.”[b] 12 Then Michal let David down through a window, and he made his escape in safety.(D) 13 Michal took the teraphim[c] and laid it in the bed, putting a tangle of goat’s hair at its head and covering it with a blanket.(E) 14 When Saul sent officers to arrest David, she said, “He is sick.” 15 Saul, however, sent the officers back to see David and commanded them, “Bring him up to me in his bed, that I may kill him.” 16 But when the messengers entered, they found the teraphim in the bed, with the tangle of goat’s hair at its head. 17 Saul asked Michal: “Why did you lie to me like this? You have helped my enemy to get away!” Michal explained to Saul: “He threatened me, saying ‘Let me go or I will kill you.’”
David and Saul in Ramah. 18 When David got safely away, he went to Samuel in Ramah, informing him of all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to stay in Naioth.[d] 19 When Saul was told that David was at Naioth in Ramah, 20 he sent officers to arrest David. But when they saw the band of prophets presided over by Samuel in a prophetic state, the spirit of God came upon them and they too fell into the prophetic ecstasy.(F) 21 Informed of this, Saul sent other messengers, who also fell into the prophetic ecstasy. For the third time Saul sent messengers, but they too fell into a prophetic ecstasy.
Saul Among the Prophets. 22 Finally Saul went to Ramah himself. Arriving at the large cistern in Secu, he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” Someone answered, “At Naioth in Ramah.” 23 As he walked from there to Naioth in Ramah, the spirit of God came upon him also, and he continued on, acting like a prophet until he reached Naioth in Ramah. 24 Then he, too, stripped himself of his garments and remained in a prophetic state in the presence of Samuel;[e] all that day and night he lay naked. That is why they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”(G)
Footnotes
- 19:4 Jonathan reminds Saul that David has served him loyally and done nothing to earn a traitor’s death. Cf. 24:18–20.
- 19:11 This story may have originally followed 18:29, placing the episode of David’s escape on the night of his marriage with Michal.
- 19:13 Teraphim: a life-sized image of a household god in human form; cf. also note on Gn 31:19. Elsewhere in the Deuteronomistic History, use of teraphim is condemned (15:23; 2 Kgs 23:24).
- 19:18 Naioth: meaning “the pastures.” This place appears only in chaps. 19–20 and is associated with Ramah.
- 19:24 In the presence of Samuel: this verse, which disagrees with 15:35, is further evidence of the diverse origins of these accounts. “Is Saul also among the prophets?”: although similar to the story of Saul’s prophetic ecstasy in 10:10–13, this account offers a more disparaging portrait of Saul.
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 Samuel 19:1 tn Heb “delighted greatly in David.”
- 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “seeking.”
- 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “stay in.”
- 1 Samuel 19:2 tn Heb “and hide yourself.”
- 1 Samuel 19:3 tn Heb “when I see.”
- 1 Samuel 19:4 tn Heb “spoke good with respect to David.”
- 1 Samuel 19:4 tn Heb “good.”
- 1 Samuel 19:5 tn Heb “and he put his life into his hand.”
- 1 Samuel 19:6 tn Heb “and Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.”
- 1 Samuel 19:7 tn Heb “and he was before him as before.”
- 1 Samuel 19:8 tn Heb “and he struck them down with a great blow.”
- 1 Samuel 19:9 tn Heb “[was] to.”
- 1 Samuel 19:9 tn The Hebrew text adds here “with his hand.”
- 1 Samuel 19:10 tn Heb “and he drove the spear into the wall.”
- 1 Samuel 19:10 tn Heb “fled and escaped.”
- 1 Samuel 19:11 tn Heb “your life.”
- 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.
- 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.”
- 1 Samuel 19:13 tn Heb “at the place of its head.”
- 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.
- 1 Samuel 19:22 tn Heb “he” (also in v. 23). The referent (Saul) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Samuel 19:24 tn Heb “and he fell down.”
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