1 Samuel 20

Louis Segond

20 David s'enfuit de Najoth, près de Rama. Il alla trouver Jonathan, et dit: Qu'ai-je fait? quel est mon crime, quel est mon péché aux yeux de ton père, pour qu'il en veuille à ma vie?

²Jonathan lui répondit: Loin de là! tu ne mourras point. Mon père ne fait aucune chose, grande ou petite, sans m'en informer; pourquoi donc mon père me cacherait-il celle-là? Il n'en est rien.

³David dit encore, en jurant: Ton père sait bien que j'ai trouvé grâce à tes yeux, et il aura dit: Que Jonathan ne le sache pas; cela lui ferait de la peine. Mais l'Éternel est vivant et ton âme est vivante! il n'y a qu'un pas entre moi et la mort.

⁴Jonathan dit à David: Je ferai pour toi ce que tu voudras.

⁵Et David lui répondit: Voici, c'est demain la nouvelle lune, et je devrais m'asseoir avec le roi pour manger; laisse-moi aller, et je me cacherai dans les champs jusqu'au soir du troisième jour.

⁶Si ton père remarque mon absence, tu diras: David m'a prié de lui laisser faire une course à Bethléhem, sa ville, parce qu'il y a pour toute la famille un sacrifice annuel.

⁷Et s'il dit: C'est bien! ton serviteur alors n'a rien à craindre; mais si la colère s'empare de lui, sache que le mal est résolu de sa part.

⁸Montre donc ton affection pour ton serviteur, puisque tu as fait avec ton serviteur une alliance devant l'Éternel. Et, s'il y a quelque crime en moi, ôte-moi la vie toi-même, car pourquoi me mènerais-tu jusqu'à ton père?

⁹Jonathan lui dit: Loin de toi la pensée que je ne t'informerai pas, si j'apprends que le mal est résolu de la part de mon père et menace de t'atteindre!

¹⁰David dit à Jonathan: Qui m'informera dans le cas où ton père te répondrait durement?

¹¹Et Jonathan dit à David: Viens, sortons dans les champs. Et ils sortirent tous deux dans les champs.

¹²Jonathan dit à David: Je prends à témoin l'Éternel, le Dieu d'Israël! Je sonderai mon père demain ou après-demain; et, dans le cas où il serait bien disposé pour David, si je n'envoie vers toi personne pour t'en informer,

¹³que l'Éternel traite Jonathan dans toute sa rigueur! Dans le cas où mon père trouverait bon de te faire du mal, je t'informerai aussi et je te laisserai partir, afin que tu t'en ailles en paix; et que l'Éternel soit avec toi, comme il a été avec mon père!

¹⁴Si je dois vivre encore, veuille user envers moi de la bonté de l'Éternel;

¹⁵et si je meurs, ne retire jamais ta bonté envers ma maison, pas même lorsque l'Éternel retranchera chacun des ennemis de David de dessus la face de la terre.

¹⁶Car Jonathan a fait alliance avec la maison de David. Que l'Éternel tire vengeance des ennemis de David!

¹⁷Jonathan protesta encore auprès de David de son affection pour lui, car il l'aimait comme son âme.

¹⁸Jonathan lui dit: C'est demain la nouvelle lune; on remarquera ton absence, car ta place sera vide.

¹⁹Tu descendras le troisième jour jusqu'au fond du lieu où tu t'étais caché le jour de l'affaire, et tu resteras près de la pierre d'Ézel.

²⁰Je tirerai trois flèches du côté de la pierre, comme si je visais un but.

²¹Et voici, j'enverrai un jeune homme, et je lui dirai: Va, trouve les flèches. Si je lui dis: Voici, les flèches sont en deçà de toi, prends-les! alors viens, car il y a paix pour toi, et tu n'as rien à craindre, l'Éternel est vivant!

²²Mais si je dis au jeune homme: Voici, les flèches sont au delà de toi! alors va-t-en, car l'Éternel te renvoie.

²³L'Éternel est à jamais témoin de la parole que nous nous sommes donnée l'un à l'autre.

²⁴David se cacha dans les champs. C'était la nouvelle lune, et le roi prit place au festin pour manger.

²⁵Le roi s'assit comme à l'ordinaire sur son siège contre la paroi, Jonathan se leva, et Abner s'assit à côté de Saül; mais la place de David resta vide.

²⁶Saül ne dit rien ce jour-là; car, pensa-t-il, c'est par hasard, il n'est pas pur, certainement il n'est pas pur.

²⁷Le lendemain, second jour de la nouvelle lune, la place de David était encore vide. Et Saül dit à Jonathan, son fils: Pourquoi le fils d'Isaï n'a-t-il paru au repas ni hier ni aujourd'hui?

²⁸Jonathan répondit à Saül: David m'a demandé la permission d'aller à Bethléhem.

²⁹Il a dit: Laisse-moi aller, je te prie, car nous avons dans la ville un sacrifice de famille, et mon frère me l'a fait savoir; si donc j'ai trouvé grâce à tes yeux, permets que j'aille en hâte voir mes frères. C'est pour cela qu'il n'est point venu à la table du roi.

³⁰Alors la colère de Saül s'enflamma contre Jonathan, et il lui dit: Fils pervers et rebelle, sais je pas que tu as pour ami le fils d'Isaï, à ta honte et à la honte de ta mère?

³¹Car aussi longtemps que le fils d'Isaï sera vivant sur la terre, il n'y aura point de sécurité ni pour toi ni pour ta royauté. Et maintenant, envoie-le chercher, et qu'on me l'amène, car il est digne de mort.

³²Jonathan répondit à Saül, son père, et lui dit: Pourquoi le ferait-on mourir? Qu'a-t-il fait?

³³Et Saül dirigea sa lance contre lui, pour le frapper. Jonathan comprit que c'était chose résolue chez son père que de faire mourir David.

³⁴Il se leva de table dans une ardente colère, et ne participa point au repas le second jour de la nouvelle lune; car il était affligé à cause de David, parce que son père l'avait outragé.

³⁵Le lendemain matin, Jonathan alla dans les champs au lieu convenu avec David, et il était accompagné d'un petit garçon.

³⁶Il lui dit: Cours, trouve les flèches que je vais tirer. Le garçon courut, et Jonathan tira une flèche qui le dépassa.

³⁷Lorsqu'il arriva au lieu où était la flèche que Jonathan avait tirée, Jonathan cria derrière lui: La flèche n'est-elle pas plus loin que toi?

³⁸Il lui cria encore: Vite, hâte-toi, ne t'arrête pas! Et le garçon de Jonathan ramassa les flèches et revint vers son maître.

³⁹Le garçon ne savait rien; Jonathan et David seuls comprenaient la chose.

⁴⁰Jonathan remit ses armes à son garçon, et lui dit: Va, porte-les à la ville.

⁴¹Après le départ du garçon, David se leva du côté du midi, puis se jeta le visage contre terre et se prosterna trois fois. Les deux amis s'embrassèrent et pleurèrent ensemble, David surtout fondit en larmes.

⁴²Et Jonathan dit à David: Va en paix, maintenant que nous avons juré l'un et l'autre, au nom de l'Éternel, en disant: Que l'Éternel soit à jamais entre moi et toi, entre ma postérité et ta postérité! (20:43) David se leva, et s'en alla, et Jonathan rentra dans la ville.

1 Samuel 20

English Standard Version

Jonathan Warns David

20 Then David fled from Naioth ^(A)in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” ²And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” ³But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that ^(B)I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, ^(C)as the Lord lives and ^(D)as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” ⁴Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” ⁵David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(E)the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, ^(F)that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. ⁶^(G)If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run ^(H)to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly ^(I)sacrifice there for all the clan.’ ⁷If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that ^(J)harm is determined by him. ⁸Therefore deal kindly with your servant, ^(K)for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. ^(L)But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” ⁹And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that ^(M)it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” ¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” ¹¹And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.

¹²And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness!^[a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? ¹³But should it please my father to do you harm, ^(N)the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. ^(O)May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. ¹⁴If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; ¹⁵^(P)and do not cut off^[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ^(Q)“May^[c] the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” ¹⁷And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, ^(R)for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to him, ^(S)“Tomorrow is the new moon, and ^(T)you will be missed, because ^(U)your seat will be empty. ¹⁹On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.^[d] ²⁰And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. ²¹And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, ^(V)as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. ²²But if I say to the youth, ^(W)‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³^(X)And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(Y)the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite,^[e] and Abner sat by Saul's side, ^(Z)but David's place was empty.

²⁶Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. ^(AA)He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷But on ^(AB)the second day, the day after the new moon, ^(AC)David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸Jonathan answered Saul, ^(AD)“David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”

³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? ³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” ³²Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, ^(AE)“Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³^(AF)But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew ^(AG)that his father was determined to put David to death. ³⁴And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.

³⁵In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. ³⁶And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, ^(AH)“Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. ³⁹But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. ⁴⁰And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” ⁴¹And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap^[f] and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. ⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, ^(AI)“Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ^(AJ)‘The Lord shall be between me and you, ^(AK)and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.^[g]

Footnotes

1 Samuel 20:12 Hebrew lacks be witness
1 Samuel 20:15 Or but if I die, do not cut off
1 Samuel 20:16 Septuagint earth, ¹⁶let not the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David. And may
1 Samuel 20:19 Septuagint; Hebrew the stone Ezel
1 Samuel 20:25 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew stood up
1 Samuel 20:41 Septuagint; Hebrew from beside the south
1 Samuel 20:42 This sentence is 21:1 in Hebrew

1 Samuel 20

Contemporary English Version

Jonathan Helps David Escape

20 David escaped from Prophets Village. Then he ran to see Jonathan and asked, “Why does your father Saul want to kill me? What have I done wrong?”

²“My father can't be trying to kill you! He never does anything without telling me about it. Why would he hide this from me? It can't be true!”

³“Jonathan, I swear it's true! But your father knows how much you like me, and he didn't want to break your heart. That's why he didn't tell you. I swear by the living Lord and by your own life that I'm only one step ahead of death.”

⁴Then Jonathan said, “Tell me what to do, and I'll do it.”

⁵^(A) David answered:

Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,^[a] and I'm supposed to eat dinner with your father. But instead, I'll hide in a field until the evening of the next day. ⁶If Saul wonders where I am, tell him, “David asked me to let him go to his hometown of Bethlehem, so he could take part in a sacrifice his family makes there every year.”

⁷If your father says it's all right, then I'm safe. But if he gets angry, you'll know he wants to harm me. ⁸Be kind to me. After all, it was your idea to promise the Lord that we would always be loyal friends. If I've done anything wrong, kill me yourself, but don't hand me over to your father.

⁹“Don't worry,” Jonathan said. “If I find out that my father wants to kill you, I'll certainly let you know.”

¹⁰“How will you do that?” David asked.

¹¹“Let's go out to this field, and I'll tell you,” Jonathan answered.

When they got there, ¹²Jonathan said:

I swear by the Lord God of Israel, that two days from now I'll know what my father is planning. Of course I'll let you know if he's friendly toward you. ¹³But if he wants to harm you, I promise to tell you and help you escape. And I ask the Lord to punish me severely if I don't keep my promise.

I pray that the Lord will bless you, just as he used to bless my father. ^14-15^(B) Someday the Lord will wipe out all of your enemies. Then if I'm still alive, please be as kind to me as the Lord has been. But if I'm dead, be kind to my family.

¹⁶Jonathan and David made an agreement that even David's descendants would have to keep.^[b] Then Jonathan said, “I pray that the Lord will take revenge on your descendants if they break our promise.”^[c]

¹⁷Jonathan thought as much of David as he did of himself, so he asked David to promise once more that he would be a loyal friend. ¹⁸After this Jonathan said:

Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, and people will wonder where you are, because your place at the table will be empty. ¹⁹By the day after tomorrow, everyone will think you've been gone a long time.^[d] Then go to the place where you hid before and stay beside Going-Away Rock.^[e] ²⁰I'll shoot three arrows at a target off to the side of the rock, ²¹and send my servant to find the arrows.

You'll know if it's safe to come out by what I tell him. If it is safe, I swear by the living Lord that I'll say, “The arrows are on this side of you! Pick them up!” ²²But if it isn't safe, I'll say to the boy, “The arrows are farther away!” This will mean that the Lord wants you to leave, and you must go. ²³But he will always watch us to make sure that we keep the promise we made to each other.

²⁴So David hid there in the field.

During the New Moon Festival, Saul sat down to eat ²⁵by the wall, just as he always did. Jonathan sat across from him,^[f] and Abner sat next to him. But David's place was empty. ²⁶Saul didn't say anything that day, because he was thinking, “Something must have happened to make David unfit to be at the Festival.^[g] Yes, something must have happened.”

²⁷The day after the New Moon Festival, when David's place was still empty, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why hasn't that son of Jesse come to eat with us? He wasn't here yesterday, and he still isn't here today!”

^28-29Jonathan answered, “The reason David hasn't come to eat with you is that he begged me to let him go to Bethlehem. He said, ‘Please let me go. My family is offering a sacrifice, and my brother told me I have to be there. Do me this favor and let me slip away to see my brothers.’ ”

³⁰Saul was furious with Jonathan and yelled, “You're no son of mine, you traitor! I know you've chosen to be loyal to that son of Jesse. You should be ashamed of yourself! And your own mother should be ashamed that you were ever born. ³¹You'll never be safe, and your kingdom will be in danger as long as that son of Jesse is alive. Turn him over to me now! He deserves to die!”

³²“Why do you want to kill David?” Jonathan asked. “What has he done?”

³³Saul threw his spear at Jonathan and tried to kill him. Then Jonathan was sure that his father really did want to kill David. ³⁴Jonathan was angry and hurt that his father had insulted David^[h] so terribly. He got up, left the table, and didn't eat anything all that day.

³⁵In the morning, Jonathan went out to the field to meet David. He took a servant boy along ³⁶and told him, “When I shoot the arrows, you run and find them for me.”

The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow so that it would go beyond him. ³⁷When the boy got near the place where the arrow had landed, Jonathan shouted, “Isn't the arrow on past you?” ³⁸Jonathan shouted to him again, “Hurry up! Don't stop!”

The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to Jonathan, ³⁹but he had no idea about what was going on. Only Jonathan and David knew. ⁴⁰Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and told him, “Take these back into town.”

⁴¹After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the mound^[i] and bowed very low three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed^[j] each other and cried, but David cried louder. ⁴²Jonathan said, “Take care of yourself. And remember, we each have asked the Lord to watch and make sure that we and our descendants keep our promise forever.”

David left and Jonathan went back to town.

Footnotes

20.5 New Moon Festival: The first day of the month, when Israelites offered special sacrifices to the Lord and had special sacred meals.
20.16 Jonathan … keep: Or, continuing Jonathan's statement to David, “You and your descendants must not kill off my descendants.”
20.16 I pray … promise: Or “I pray that the Lord take revenge on you if you break our promise!”
20.19 By … time: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20.19 Going-Away Rock: Or “Ezel Rock”; one ancient translation “that mound” (see 20.41).
20.25 sat … him: One ancient translation; Hebrew “stood up.”
20.26 unfit … Festival: During the New Moon Festival a sacred meal was served that could only be eaten by people who were properly prepared. Some of the things that could make a person unfit are listed in Leviticus 7.20,21; 15.2,31; 22.4-8; Deuteronomy 23.10,11.
20.34 insulted David: Or “insulted him” (that is, Jonathan).
20.41 the mound: One ancient translation; Hebrew “from the south side.”
20.41 kissed: A common way of greeting or saying goodbye in biblical times (see Mark 14.44).

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!”

³But 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.”

⁴Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do for you.”

⁵So 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. ⁶If 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.’ ⁷If 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. ⁸As 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?”

¹⁰David 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.

¹²Then 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? ¹³But 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. ¹⁴But show me unfailing kindness^(P) like the Lord’s kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed, ¹⁵and 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.”

¹⁶So Jonathan^(R) made a covenant^(S) with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.^(T)” ¹⁷And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath^(U) out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

¹⁸Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon feast. You will be missed, because your seat will be empty.^(V) ¹⁹The day after tomorrow, toward evening, go to the place where you hid^(W) when this trouble began, and wait by the stone Ezel. ²⁰I will shoot three arrows^(X) to the side of it, as though I were shooting at a target. ²¹Then 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. ²²But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond^(Y) you,’ then you must go, because the Lord has sent you away. ²³And about the matter you and I discussed—remember, the Lord is witness^(Z) between you and me forever.”

²⁴So David hid in the field, and when the New Moon feast^(AA) came, the king sat down to eat. ²⁵He sat in his customary place by the wall, opposite Jonathan,^[a] and Abner sat next to Saul, but David’s place was empty.^(AB) ²⁶Saul said nothing that day, for he thought, “Something must have happened to David to make him ceremonially unclean—surely he is unclean.^(AC)” ²⁷But 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?”

²⁸Jonathan answered, “David earnestly asked me for permission^(AD) to go to Bethlehem. ²⁹He 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.”

³⁰Saul’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? ³¹As 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. ³³But Saul hurled his spear at him to kill him. Then Jonathan knew that his father intended^(AI) to kill David.

³⁴Jonathan 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.

³⁵In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him, ³⁶and he said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. ³⁷When the boy came to the place where Jonathan’s arrow had fallen, Jonathan called out after him, “Isn’t the arrow beyond^(AJ) you?” ³⁸Then 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.) ⁴⁰Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said, “Go, carry them back to town.”

⁴¹After 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.

⁴²Jonathan 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.

Louis Segond (LSG)

by Public Domain

English Standard Version (ESV)

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

New International Version (NIV)

1 Samuel 20

Louis Segond