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1 Samuel 20
Jubilee Bible 2000
1 Samuel 20
Jubilee Bible 2000
20 ¶ And David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What is my iniquity or what is my sin before thy father that he seeks my life?
2 And he said unto him, No, in no wise; thou shalt not die. Behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me, and why should my father hide this thing from me? It shall not be so.
3 And David swore moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith in himself, Let Jonathan not know this lest he be grieved; but truly as the LORD lives and as thy soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.
4 Then Jonathan said unto David, Whatever thy soul saith, I will do it for thee.
5 And David replied unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at food, but thou shalt let me go and hide myself in the field until the evening of the third day.
6 If thy father at all misses me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem, his city, for all those of his lineage have an anniversary sacrifice.
7 If he should say, It is well; thy slave shall have peace; but if he is very wroth, then be sure that the evil is determined in him.
8 Therefore, thou shalt deal in mercy with thy slave, for thou hast brought thy slave into a covenant of the LORD with thee; notwithstanding, if there is iniquity in me, slay me thyself, for why should thou bring me to thy father?
9 ¶ And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee, for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not be obliged to show it to thee?
10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answers thee roughly?
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And both of them went out into the field.
12 Then Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I shall have asked my father tomorrow at this time or after tomorrow and, behold, if there is good toward David and I then do not send unto thee and show it to thee,
13 the LORD do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do thee evil, then I will show it to thee and send thee away that thou may go in peace; and the LORD be with thee as he has been with my father.
14 And if I live, thou shalt show me the mercy of the LORD, but if I am dead,
15 thou shalt not cut off thy mercy from my house for ever. When the LORD has cut off one by one the enemies of David from the face of the earth, remove even Jonathan from thy house if I fail thee and require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David.
17 And Jonathan swore unto David again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed because thy seat will be empty.
19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the work and shalt remain by the stone Ezel;
20 and I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof as though I shot at a mark.
21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee; take them, then come thou, for there is peace unto thee and no hurt, as the LORD lives.
22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, then go away, for the LORD has sent thee away.
23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, let the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
24 ¶ So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat down to eat bread.
25 And the king sat upon his seat as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul’s side, and David’s place was empty.
26 Nevertheless, Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, Something has befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
27 And it came to pass on the next day, which was the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty, and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Why did not the son of Jesse come to food, neither yesterday nor today?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem.
29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for those of our lineage have a sacrifice in the city, and my brother, he has commanded me to be there, and now, if I have found grace in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he has not come unto the king’s table.
30 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do I not know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion and unto the confusion of thy mother’s shame?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the land, thou shalt not be established nor thy kingdom. Therefore, now send and bring him unto me, for he shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father and said unto him, Why shall he be slain? What has he done?
33 And Saul cast a spear at him to smite him whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved for David and because his father had done him shame.
35 ¶ And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
36 And he said unto his lad, Run and find the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?
38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan’s lad gathered up the arrows and came to his master.
39 But the lad did not understand anything; only Jonathan and David understood the matter.
40 And Jonathan gave his weapons unto his lad and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the Negev and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times, and they kissed one another and wept one with another, although David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed, and Jonathan entered into the city.
1 Samuel 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 Samuel 20
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Jonathan Protects David
20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done?(A) What did I do wrong? How have I sinned against your father so that he wants to take my life?”
2 Jonathan said to him, “No, you won’t die. Listen, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without telling me.[a] So why would he hide this matter from me? This can’t be true.”
3 But David said, “Your father certainly knows that you have come to look favorably on me. He has said, ‘Jonathan must not know of this, or else he will be grieved.’” David also swore, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death.”(B)
4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.”
5 So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon,(C) and I’m supposed to sit down and eat with the king.(D) Instead, let me go, and I’ll hide in the field until the third night.(E) 6 If your father misses me at all, say, ‘David urgently requested my permission to quickly go to his town Bethlehem(F) for an annual sacrifice(G) there involving the whole clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he becomes angry, you will know he has evil intentions. 8 Deal faithfully with your servant, for you have brought me into a covenant with you before the Lord.(H) If I have done anything wrong,(I) then kill me yourself; why take me to your father?”
9 “No!” Jonathan responded. “If I ever find out my father has evil intentions against you, wouldn’t I tell you about it?”
10 So David asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
11 He answered David, “Come on, let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field. 12 “By the Lord, the God of Israel, I will sound out my father by this time tomorrow or the next day. If I find out that he is favorable toward you, will I not send for you and tell you?[b] 13 If my father intends to bring evil on you, may God punish Jonathan and do so severely(J) if I do not tell you[c] and send you away so you may go in peace. May the Lord be with you,(K) just as He was with my father. 14 If I continue to live, treat me with the Lord’s faithful love, but if I die, 15 don’t ever withdraw your faithful love from my household—not even when the Lord cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”(L) 16 Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David,(M) saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.”[d](N) 17 Jonathan once again swore to David[e] in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.(O)
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the New Moon;(P) you’ll be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 The following day hurry down and go to the place where you hid on the day this incident began and stay beside the rock Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows beside it as if I’m aiming at a target. 21 Then I will send the young man and say, ‘Go and find the arrows!’ Now, if I expressly say to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you—get them,’ then come, because as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no problem. 22 But if I say this to the youth: ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you!’(Q) then go, for the Lord is sending you away. 23 As for the matter you and I have spoken about,(R) the Lord will be a witness[f] between you and me forever.”(S) 24 So David hid in the field.
At the New Moon, the king sat down to eat the meal. 25 He sat at his usual place on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat facing him[g] and Abner took his place beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.(T) 26 Saul did not say anything that day because he thought, “Something unexpected has happened; he must be ceremonially unclean—yes, that’s it, he is unclean.”(U)
27 However, the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered, “David asked for my permission to go to Bethlehem.(V) 29 He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if you are pleased with me, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”
30 Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother?[h] 31 Every day Jesse’s son lives on earth you and your kingship are not secure. Now send for him and bring him to me—he deserves to die.”(W)
32 Jonathan answered his father back: “Why is he to be killed? What has he done?”(X)
33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him,(Y) so he knew that his father was determined to kill David.(Z) 34 He got up from the table in fierce anger and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointed meeting with David. A small young man was with him. 36 He said to the young man, “Run and find the arrows I’m shooting.”(AA) As the young man ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37 He came to the location of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, but Jonathan called to him and said, “The arrow is beyond you, isn’t it?”(AB) 38 Then Jonathan called to him, “Hurry up and don’t stop!” Jonathan’s young man picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 He did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement. 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the young man who was with him and said, “Go, take it back to the city.”
41 When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell with his face to the ground, and bowed three times.(AC) Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.(AD)
42 Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the Lord when we said: The Lord will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.”[i](AE) Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 20:2 Lit without uncovering my ear
- 1 Samuel 20:12 Lit and uncover your ear
- 1 Samuel 20:13 Lit will uncover your ears
- 1 Samuel 20:16 Lit Lord require it from the hand of David’s enemies
- 1 Samuel 20:17 LXX; MT reads Jonathan once again made David swear
- 1 Samuel 20:23 LXX; MT omits a witness
- 1 Samuel 20:25 Text emended; MT reads Jonathan got up
- 1 Samuel 20:30 Lit your mother’s genitals
- 1 Samuel 20:42 The last sentence of v. 42 is 1Sm 21:1 in Hb.
1 Samuel 20
Darby Translation
1 Samuel 20
Darby Translation
20 And David fled from Naioth by Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity, and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeks my life?
2 And he said to him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, and not apprise me; and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
3 And David swore again and again, and said, Thy father certainly knows that I have found favour in thy sight: and he has thought, Jonathan shall not know this, lest he be grieved; but truly [as] Jehovah liveth, and [as] thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
4 And Jonathan said to David, What thy soul may say, I will even do it for thee.
5 And David said to Jonathan, Behold, to-morrow is new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat; but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.
6 If thy father should actually miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
7 If he say thus, It is well,—thy servant shall have peace; but if he be very wroth, be sure that evil is determined by him.
8 Deal kindly then with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of Jehovah with thee; but if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee; for, if I knew with certainty that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, would I not tell it thee?
10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
11 And Jonathan said to David, Come and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
12 And Jonathan said to David, Jehovah, God of Israel, when I sound my father about this time to-morrow, [or] the next day, and behold, there be good toward David, and I then send not to thee, and apprise thee of it,
13 Jehovah do so and much more to Jonathan. Should it please my father [to do] thee evil, then I will apprise thee of it, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace; and Jehovah be with thee, as he has been with my father.
14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of Jehovah, that I die not,
15 but thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever, no, not when Jehovah cuts off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth.
16 And Jonathan made [a covenant] with the house of David, [saying,] Let Jehovah even require [it] at the hand of David's enemies!
17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, by the love he had for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 And Jonathan said to him, To-morrow is the new moon; and thou wilt be missed, for thy seat will be empty;
19 but on the third day thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself on the day of the business, and abide by the stone Ezel.
20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.
21 And behold, I will send the lad, [saying,] Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come, for there is peace for thee, and it is nothing; [as] Jehovah liveth.
22 But if I say thus to the youth: Behold, the arrows are beyond thee,—go thy way; for Jehovah sends thee away.
23 And as to the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, Jehovah is between me and thee for ever.
24 And David hid himself in the field; and it was the new moon, and the king sat at table to eat.
25 And the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26 And Saul said nothing that day; for he thought, Something has befallen [him], that he is not clean: surely he is not clean.
27 And it came to pass the next day after the new moon, the second [day of the month], as David's place was empty, that Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has not the son of Jesse come to table, neither yesterday nor to-day?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me [to go] to Bethlehem,
29 and said, Let me go, I pray thee; for we have a family sacrifice in the city; and my brother himself has commanded me [to be there]; and now, if I have found favour in thy sight, let me go away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. He has therefore not come to the king's table.
30 And Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, Son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame and to the shame of thy mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon earth, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. And now send and fetch him to me, for he must die.
32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said to him, Why should he be put to death? what has he done?
33 Then Saul cast the spear at him to smite him; and Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to put David to death.
34 And Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and ate no meat the second day of the new moon; for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
35 And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, to the place agreed on with David, and a little lad with him.
36 And he said to his lad, Run, find now the arrows which I shoot. The lad ran, and he shot the arrow beyond him.
37 And when the lad came to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad and said, Is not the arrow away beyond thee?
38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not! And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 And the lad knew nothing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city.
41 The lad went, and David arose from the side of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have both of us sworn in the name of Jehovah, saying, Jehovah be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever! And he arose and departed; and Jonathan went into the city.
1 Samuel 20
New International Version
1 Samuel 20
New International Version
David and Jonathan
20 Then David fled from Naioth at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged(A) your father, that he is trying to kill me?”(B)
2 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “You are not going to die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn’t so!”
3 But David took an oath(C) and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know this or he will be grieved.’ Yet as surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death.”
4 Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”
5 So David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon feast,(D) and I am supposed to dine with the king; but let me go and hide(E) in the field until the evening of the day after tomorrow. 6 If your father misses me at all, tell him, ‘David earnestly asked my permission(F) to hurry to Bethlehem,(G) his hometown, because an annual(H) sacrifice is being made there for his whole clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Very well,’ then your servant is safe. But if he loses his temper,(I) you can be sure that he is determined(J) to harm me. 8 As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant(K) with you before the Lord. If I am guilty, then kill(L) me yourself! Why hand me over to your father?”
9 “Never!” Jonathan said. “If I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn’t I tell you?”
10 David asked, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?”
11 “Come,” Jonathan said, “let’s go out into the field.” So they went there together.
12 Then Jonathan said to David, “I swear by the Lord, the God of Israel, that I will surely sound(M) out my father by this time the day after tomorrow! If he is favorably disposed toward you, will I not send you word and let you know? 13 But if my father intends to harm you, may the Lord deal with Jonathan, be it ever so severely,(N) if I do not let you know and send you away in peace. May the Lord be with(O) you as he has been with my father. 14 But show me unfailing kindness(P) like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, 15 and do not ever cut off your kindness from my family(Q)—not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”
16 So Jonathan(R) made a covenant(S) with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.(T)” 17 And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath(U) out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.(V) 19 The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid(W) when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows(X) to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I will send a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to him, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you; bring them here,’ then come, because, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe; there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond(Y) you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness(Z) between you and me forever.”
24 So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast(AA) came, the king sat down to eat. 25 He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,[a] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.(AB) 26 Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.(AC)” 27 But the next day, the second day of the month, David’s place was empty again. Then Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission(AD) to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, because our family is observing a sacrifice(AE) in the town and my brother has ordered me to be there. If I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away to see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul’s anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you? 31 As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom(AF) will be established. Now send someone to bring him to me, for he must die!”
32 “Why(AG) should he be put to death? What(AH) has he done?” Jonathan asked his father. 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended(AI) to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the feast he did not eat, because he was grieved at his father’s shameful treatment of David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, 36 and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond(AJ) you?” 38 Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go quickly! Don’t stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 (The boy knew nothing about all this; only Jonathan and David knew.) 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”
41 After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground.(AK) Then they kissed each other and wept together—but David wept the most.
42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace,(AL) for we have sworn friendship(AM) with each other in the name of the Lord,(AN) saying, ‘The Lord is witness(AO) between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.(AP)’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.[b]
Footnotes
- 1 Samuel 20:25 Septuagint; Hebrew wall. Jonathan arose
- 1 Samuel 20:42 In Hebrew texts this sentence (20:42b) is numbered 21:1.
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