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1 Samuel 20
Lexham English Bible

Jonathan Supports David over Saul

20 Then David fled from Naioth 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 is trying to kill me?[a] 2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You will not die! Look, my father does not do[b] anything large or small unless he reveals it to me.[c] Why should my father hide this thing or anything from me?” 3 Then David took an oath[d] again and said, “Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.’ But as Yahweh lives[e] and as your soul lives,[f] surely there is merely a step between me and death!” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you wish,[g] I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Look, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should certainly sit with the king to eat. You must send me away so that I can hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then you must say, ‘David earnestly asked from me to run to Bethlehem his city, for the yearly sacrifice[h] is there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says ‘Good,’ it will mean peace for your servant; but if he is very angry, know that he has decided to do me harm.[i] 8 So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there is guilt in me, then kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?” 9 Then Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I know for certain that my father decided evil should come upon you,[j] would I not have told it to you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if what your father answers you is harsh?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out to the field.” So the two of them went out to the field.

12 Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh the God of Israel is my witness[k] that I will question my father by this time the day after tomorrow.[l] And look, if he is well disposed toward you,[m] will I not send word to you and disclose it to you?[n] 13 So may Yahweh punish Jonathan and more[o] if my father decides to do you harm[p] and if I fail to disclose it to you[q] and send word to you that you can go safely. And may Yahweh be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 And not while I am still alive, will you not show the loyal love of Yahweh with me, that I may not die?[r] 15 And do not cut off your loyal love from my family[s] forever, not even when Yahweh exterminates[t] each of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant[u] with the house of David, saying, “May Yahweh call the enemies of David to account.”[v] 17 And Jonathan again made David swear an oath, because he loved him; for with the love of his soul he loved him.

18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will stay empty. 19 On the third day you must go down quickly and go to the place where you hid yourself on the day all this started[w] and remain beside the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side as if I were shooting at a target. 21 Then[x] I will send word to my servant, ‘Go, find the arrows!’ If I clearly say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you;[y] bring[z] it,’ then[aa] come, for it means peace for you. And there is no problem, as Yahweh lives.[ab] 22 But if I say this to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’[ac] go, for Yahweh has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter about which you and I spoke, look, Yahweh is between you and me forever.”

24 So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came,[ad] the king was seated at the feast.[ae] 25 The king sat at his seat as before,[af] the seat by the wall, and Jonathan got up, and Abner sat beside Saul, but David’s place was empty. 26 But Saul said nothing on that day, for he thought, “Something happened to him.[ag] He is not ceremonially clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 And then[ah] on the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was empty. So Saul asked Jonathan his son, “Why did the son of Jesse not come either yesterday or today to the feast?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked permission from me to go up to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Send me away, please, for our clan sacrifice is in the city, and my brother commanded[ai] me to be present. So then, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me slip away and see my brothers.’ Therefore he has not come to the table of the king.” 30 Then Saul became angry[aj] at Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman![ak] Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as[al] the son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established! So then, send and bring him to me, for he will surely die!”[am] 32 But Jonathan answered his father Saul and said to him, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul hurled his[an] spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father had decided[ao] to kill David.

34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged,[ap] and did not eat on the second day of the new moon because he was upset about David, because his father had disgraced him. 35 And then[aq] in the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a young boy[ar] was with him. 36 He said to his servant,[as] “Run, please find the arrows that I am shooting!” The boy[at] ran, and he shot the arrow to pass over him. 37 When the boy came up to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called out after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?”[au] 38 Then Jonathan called out after the boy, “Quick, hurry, do not linger!” And Jonathan’s servant collected the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy did not know anything about this; only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 Jonathan gave his weapons to his servant and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41 The boy left, and then David got up from the south side,[av] and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other[aw] and wept together,[ax] but David wept the most. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn, the two of us, an oath in the name of Yahweh, saying, “Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring forever.”[ay] Then he got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 20:1 Literally “seeking my life”
  2. 1 Samuel 20:2 The Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) reads “he does to/for him”; the translation follows the reading tradition (Qere) which has “does not do”
  3. 1 Samuel 20:2 Literally “a large thing or a small thing and he does not reveal to my ear”
  4. 1 Samuel 20:3 Literally “swore”
  5. 1 Samuel 20:3 Literally “the life of Yahweh”
  6. 1 Samuel 20:3 Literally “the life of your soul”
  7. 1 Samuel 20:4 Literally “What your soul says”
  8. 1 Samuel 20:6 Literally “the sacrifice of the days”
  9. 1 Samuel 20:7 Literally “the evil has been determined from with him”
  10. 1 Samuel 20:9 Literally “the evil is determined from with my father to come over you”
  11. 1 Samuel 20:12 The phrase “is my witness” is supplied based on the Syriac version
  12. 1 Samuel 20:12 Literally “as the time tomorrow the third”
  13. 1 Samuel 20:12 Literally “if he is good to David”
  14. 1 Samuel 20:12 Literally “I will reveal it to your ear”
  15. 1 Samuel 20:13 Literally “So may Yahweh do to Jonathan and so may he add”
  16. 1 Samuel 20:13 Literally “the evil over you is regarded as good by my father”
  17. 1 Samuel 20:13 Literally “I will reveal it to your ear”
  18. 1 Samuel 20:14 Or perhaps “and if I die, may you not …”
  19. 1 Samuel 20:15 Literally “my house”
  20. 1 Samuel 20:15 Literally “cuts off”
  21. 1 Samuel 20:16 Literally “cut a covenant”
  22. 1 Samuel 20:16 Literally “seek from the hand of the enemies of David”
  23. 1 Samuel 20:19 Literally “on the day of the deed”
  24. 1 Samuel 20:21 Literally “And look”
  25. 1 Samuel 20:21 Literally “from you and here”
  26. 1 Samuel 20:21 Literally “take”
  27. 1 Samuel 20:21 Hebrew “and”
  28. 1 Samuel 20:21 Literally “the life of Yahweh”
  29. 1 Samuel 20:22 Literally “from you and beyond”
  30. 1 Samuel 20:24 Literally “And it was the new moon”
  31. 1 Samuel 20:24 Literally “the king sat at the food to eat”
  32. 1 Samuel 20:25 Literally “as occurrence at occurrence”
  33. 1 Samuel 20:26 Literally “It is incident”
  34. 1 Samuel 20:27 Literally “And it happened”
  35. 1 Samuel 20:29 Or “urged”
  36. 1 Samuel 20:30 Literally “the nose of Saul became hot”
  37. 1 Samuel 20:30 Or “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796)
  38. 1 Samuel 20:31 Literally “all the days which”
  39. 1 Samuel 20:31 Literally “he is a son of death”
  40. 1 Samuel 20:33 Hebrew “the”
  41. 1 Samuel 20:33 Literally “it was complete from with his father”
  42. 1 Samuel 20:34 Literally “with burning of nose”
  43. 1 Samuel 20:35 Literally “And it happened”
  44. 1 Samuel 20:35 Or “young servant”
  45. 1 Samuel 20:36 Or “boy”
  46. 1 Samuel 20:36 Or “servant”
  47. 1 Samuel 20:37 Literally “from you and beyond”
  48. 1 Samuel 20:41 So Masoretic Hebrew text; LXX reads “from the mound” (of stones)
  49. 1 Samuel 20:41 Literally “each his friend”
  50. 1 Samuel 20:41 Literally “each with his friend”
  51. 1 Samuel 20:42 In the Hebrew Bible, 1 Sam 21 begins here. 1 Samuel 20:42b–21:15 in the English Bible is 21:1–16 in the Hebrew Bible
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1 Samuel 20
Common English Bible

Jonathan and David’s friendship

20 David fled from the camps at Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, “What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father that he wants me dead?”

2 Jonathan said to him, “No! You are not going to die! Listen: My father doesn’t do anything big or small without telling me first. Why would my father hide this from me? It isn’t true!”

3 But David solemnly promised in response, “Your father knows full well that you like me. He probably said, ‘Jonathan must not learn about this or he’ll be upset.’[a] But I promise you—on the Lord’s life and yours!—that I am this close to death!”

4 “What do you want me to do?” Jonathan said to David. “I’ll do it.”

5 “Okay, listen,” David answered Jonathan. “Tomorrow is the new moon, and I’m supposed to sit with the king at the feast. Instead, let me go and I’ll hide in the field until nighttime.[b] 6 If your father takes note of my absence, tell him, ‘David begged my permission to run down to his hometown Bethlehem, because there is an annual sacrifice there for his whole family.’ 7 If Saul says ‘Fine,’ then I, your servant, am safe. But if he loses his temper, then you’ll know for certain that he intends to harm me. 8 So be loyal to your servant, because you’ve brought your servant into a sacred covenant[c] with you. If I’m guilty, then kill me yourself; just don’t take me back to your father.”

9 “Enough!” Jonathan replied. “If I can determine for certain that my father intends to harm you, of course I’ll tell you!”

10 “Who will tell me if your father responds harshly?” David asked Jonathan.

11 “Come on,” Jonathan said to David. “Let’s go into the field.” So both of them went out into the field. 12 Then Jonathan told David, “I pledge by the Lord God of Israel that I will question my father by this time tomorrow or on the third day. If he seems favorable toward David, I will definitely send word and make sure you know. 13 But if my father intends to harm you, then may the Lord deal harshly with me, Jonathan, and worse still if I don’t tell you right away so that you can escape safely. May the Lord be with you as he once was with my father. 14 If I remain alive, be loyal to me.[d] But if I die, 15 don’t ever stop being loyal to my household. Once the Lord has eliminated all of David’s enemies from the earth, 16 if Jonathan’s name is also eliminated, then the Lord will seek retribution from David!”[e]

17 So Jonathan again made a pledge to David[f] because he loved David as much as himself. 18 “Tomorrow is the festival of the new moon,” Jonathan told David. “You will be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 The day after tomorrow, go all the way to the spot where you hid on the day of the incident, and stay close to that mound.[g] 20 On the third day I will shoot an arrow to the side of the mound as if aiming at a target.[h] 21 Then I’ll send the servant boy, saying, ‘Go retrieve the arrow.’ If I yell to the boy, ‘Hey! The arrow is on this side of you. Get it!’ then you can come out because it will be safe for you. There won’t be any trouble—I make a pledge on the Lord’s life. 22 But if I yell to the young man, ‘Hey! The arrow is past you,’ then run for it, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 Either way, the Lord is witness[i] between us forever regarding the promise we made to each other.” 24 So David hid himself in the field.

When the new moon came, the king sat at the feast to eat. 25 He took his customary seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite him[j] while Abner sat beside Saul. David’s seat was empty. 26 Saul didn’t say anything that day because he thought, Perhaps David became unclean somehow. That must be it. 27 But on the next day, the second of the new moon, David’s seat was still empty. Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t Jesse’s son come to the table,[k] either yesterday or today?”

28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David begged my permission to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Please let me go because we have a family sacrifice there in town, and my brother has ordered me to be present. Please do me a favor and let me slip away so I can see my family.’ That’s why David hasn’t been at the king’s table.”

30 At that, Saul got angry at Jonathan. “You son of a stubborn, rebellious woman!” he said. “Do you think I don’t know how you’ve allied yourself with Jesse’s son? Shame on you and on the mother who birthed you![l] 31 As long as Jesse’s son lives on this earth, neither you nor your dynasty will be secure. Now have him brought to me because he’s a dead man!”

32 But Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should David be executed? What has he done?”

33 At that, Saul threw[m] his spear at Jonathan to strike him, and Jonathan realized that his father intended to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table in a rage. He didn’t eat anything on the second day of the new moon because he was worried about David and because his father had humiliated him.

35 In the morning, Jonathan went out to the field for the meeting with David, and a young servant boy went with him. 36 He said to the boy, “Go quickly and retrieve the arrow that I shoot.” So the boy ran off, and he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 When the boy got to the spot where Jonathan shot the arrow, Jonathan yelled to him, “Isn’t the arrow past you?” 38 Jonathan yelled again to the boy, “Quick! Hurry up! Don’t just stand there!” So Jonathan’s servant boy gathered up the arrow and came back to his master. 39 The boy had no idea what had happened; only Jonathan and David knew. 40 Jonathan handed his weapons to the boy and told him, “Get going. Take these back to town.”

41 As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from behind the mound[n] and fell down, face on the ground, bowing low three times. The friends kissed each other, and cried with each other, but David cried hardest. 42 [o] Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace because the two of us made a solemn pledge in the Lord’s name when we said, ‘The Lord is witness between us and between our descendants forever.’” Then David got up and left, but Jonathan went back to town.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 20:3 LXX or he’ll tell David; cf 20:34
  2. 1 Samuel 20:5 LXX; MT until the third evening; cf 20:12, 19-20
  3. 1 Samuel 20:8 MT the Lord’s covenant
  4. 1 Samuel 20:14 LXX; MT show me the Lord’s faithful love
  5. 1 Samuel 20:16 20:14-16 follows LXX.
  6. 1 Samuel 20:17 LXX; MT Jonathan made David pledge.
  7. 1 Samuel 20:19 LXX; MT to the stone Ezel; cf 20:41
  8. 1 Samuel 20:20 Correction; MT arrows (plural here and in 20:21-22, 36, 38 Qere)
  9. 1 Samuel 20:23 LXX; MT lacks witness; also in 20:42.
  10. 1 Samuel 20:25 LXX; MT Jonathan arose
  11. 1 Samuel 20:27 LXX, DSS (4QSamb); MT to the feast
  12. 1 Samuel 20:30 Or and shame on your mother’s nakedness.
  13. 1 Samuel 20:33 LXX; MT pointed
  14. 1 Samuel 20:41 LXX; MT beside the south
  15. 1 Samuel 20:42 21:1 in Heb
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