Beginning

King Saul Is Jealous of David

18 When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan became one with the soul of David. Jonathan loved him as himself. ² Saul took David that day, and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then Jonathan made an agreement with David, because he loved him as himself. ⁴ Jonathan took off his long coat and gave it to David. He gave him his battle-clothes, his sword, his bow and his belt also. ⁵ David went everywhere that Saul sent him, and did well. Saul had him lead the men of war. And it was pleasing to all the people and to Saul’s servants.

⁶ When David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, playing songs of joy on timbrels. ⁷ The women sang as they played, and said, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” ⁸ Then Saul became very angry. This saying did not please him. He said, “They have given David honor for ten thousands, but for me only thousands. Now what more can he have but to be king?” ⁹ And Saul was jealous and did not trust David from that day on.

¹⁰ The next day a bad spirit sent from God came upon Saul with power. He acted like a crazy man in his house, while David was playing the harp. Saul had a spear in his hand, ¹¹ and he threw the spear, thinking, “I will nail David to the wall.” But David jumped out of his way twice. ¹² Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had left Saul. ¹³ So Saul made David go away from him, and had him lead a thousand men. And David went out to the people. ¹⁴ David did well in all that he did, because the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul saw how well he did, he was afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

David Marries Saul’s Daughter

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as a wife, if you only work for me with strength of heart and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “I will not go against him. Let the Philistines go against him.” ¹⁸ David said to Saul, “Who am I? What is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹ But at the time when Saul’s daughter Merab should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.

²⁰ Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David. When they told Saul, it pleased him. ²¹ Saul thought, “I will give her to David. I will use her to trap him, and the Philistines will go against him.” So Saul said to David a second time, “Now you may be my son-in-law.” ²² Then Saul told his servants, “Speak to David in secret. Tell him, ‘See, the king is happy with you, and all his servants love you. So now become the king’s son-in-law.’” ²³ So Saul’s servants said this to David. But David said, “Is it not important to you to become the king’s son-in-law? I am only a poor man and am not very respected.” ²⁴ Saul’s servants told Saul what David had said. ²⁵ Then Saul said, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no marriage gift except the pieces of skin from the sex parts of a hundred Philistines, to punish those who hate the king.’” Saul planned to have the Philistines kill David. ²⁶ When his servants told this to David, it pleased him to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the time was finished, ²⁷ David and his men went and killed 200 Philistine men. Then David brought their pieces of flesh and gave all of them to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. ²⁸ When Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved him, ²⁹ Saul was even more afraid of David. So he hated David always.

³⁰ Then the Philistine leaders went out to battle. And when they did, David acted with more wisdom than all the servants of Saul. So his name became very important.

Saul Tries to Kill David

19 Now Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan found much joy in David. ² So Jonathan told David, “My father Saul wants to kill you. I beg you, be careful in the morning. Stay hidden in a secret place. ³ I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak to my father about you. If I find out anything, I will tell you.” ⁴ Then Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, saying, “Do not let the king sin against his servant David. He has not sinned against you. What he has done has been good for you. ⁵ He put his life in danger and killed the Philistine. And the Lord helped all Israel with His saving power. You saw it and were glad. Why then will you sin against him who has done no wrong, by killing David for no reason?” ⁶ Saul listened to Jonathan, and promised, “As the Lord lives, David will not be killed.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. He brought David to Saul, and David stayed with Saul as before.

⁸ When there was war again, David went out and fought with the Philistines. He killed many of them, and the others ran away from him. ⁹ Then a bad spirit sent from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. David was playing the harp. ¹⁰ Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but David got out of the way. Saul hit the wall with the spear, and David ran away that night.

¹¹ Then Saul sent men to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal told him, “If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” ¹² So Michal let David down through a window, and he ran away. ¹³ Michal took a house god and laid it on the bed. She put a goat hair pillow at its head, and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ When Saul sent men to take David, Michal said, “He is sick.” ¹⁵ Then Saul sent men to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him.” ¹⁶ When the men came in, the house god was on the bed, with the goat hair pillow at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you fooled me like this and let the man I hate go? Now he has run away to be safe.” Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

¹⁸ Now David ran away from Saul and came to Samuel at Ramah. He told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. ¹⁹ Saul was told, “See, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ So Saul sent men to take David. But when they saw the men of God saying what was going to happen, with Samuel leading them, the Spirit of God came upon the men sent by Saul. And they began saying what was going to happen also. ²¹ When Saul heard this, he sent other men, and they began saying what was going to happen. So Saul sent men for the third time, and they began saying what was going to happen. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah, and came as far as the large well in Secu. He asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “See, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ So he went to Naioth in Ramah. And the Spirit of God came upon him also. As he traveled he said what would happen, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He took off his clothes and said what was going to happen in front of Samuel. He lay down without clothing all that day and all that night. So they say, “Is Saul among those who say what will happen?”

Jonathan Is Good to David

20 Then David ran from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my sin? What have I done wrong to your father, that he wants to kill me?” ² Jonathan said to him, “Far from it, you will not die. See, my father does nothing big or small without telling me about it. So why should my father hide this from me? It is not so!” ³ But David answered, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes. He has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, because it would fill him with sorrow.’ But it is true. As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is only a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “I will do for you whatever you say.” ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “See, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should sit down to eat with the king. But let me go. I will hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David asked me to let him leave to run to his city Bethlehem. It is the time for the whole family to gather there for the gift given on the altar in worship each year.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘Good!’ your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, then you will know that he has decided to do what is bad. ⁸ So be kind to your servant. For you have brought me into an agreement of the Lord with you. But if I am guilty, kill me yourself. For why should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that my father has decided to do something bad to you, would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father is angry when he answers you?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, “May the Lord, the God of Israel, see it. I will speak with my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day. If he feels good about David, will I not send news to you and let you know it? ¹³ But if my father wants to hurt you, may the Lord do the same to Jonathan and even more, if I do not let you know and send you away, so you may be safe. May the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord, that I may not die. ¹⁵ Do not stop being faithful to my house forever, not even when the Lord destroys from the earth all who hate David. ¹⁶ Do not let the name of Jonathan be lost from the family of David. And may the Lord punish those who hate you.” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David promise again, by his love for him. For he loved him as he loved his own life.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the new moon. You will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ On the third day hurry and come to the place where you hid yourself the other time. Stay by the stone called Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as if I shot at a mark. ²¹ Then I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy these words, ‘See, the arrows are on this side of you, get them!’ then you may come. For it is safe for you and there is no danger, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘See, the arrows are farther away,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ As for the agreement you and I have spoken, see, the Lord is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ The king sat on his seat by the wall as he did other times. Jonathan sat on the other side from him, and Abner sat beside Saul. But David’s place was empty. ²⁶ But Saul did not say anything that day. For he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean. For sure he is not clean.” ²⁷ But David’s place was empty the next day, the second day of the new moon. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the supper yesterday and today?” ²⁸ Jonathan answered Saul, “David asked me to let him go to Bethlehem. ²⁹ He said, ‘I beg you, let me go. Our family is giving a gift on the altar in the city. And my brother has told me to be there. Now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me leave and see my brothers.’ That is why he has not come to the king’s table.”

³⁰ Then Saul was very angry with Jonathan and he said to him, “You son of a sinful woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother who gave birth to you? ³¹ As long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you and the power you would have as king will not last. So send for him and bring him to me. For he must die.” ³² Jonathan answered his father Saul, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?” ³³ But Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him, so he knew that his father had decided to kill David. ³⁴ Jonathan rose from the table very angry. He did not eat any food on the second day of the new moon. For he was filled with sorrow for David, because his father had brought shame upon him.

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field at the time he and David agreed to meet. A little boy was with him. ³⁶ Jonathan said to his boy, “Run, find the arrows I shoot.” As the boy was running, he shot an arrow past him. ³⁷ The boy came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow. Jonathan called to the boy and said, “Is not the arrow farther away?” ³⁸ Jonathan called to the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” Then Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his owner. ³⁹ The boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew what had happened. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to his boy and told him, “Go, take them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the boy was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground. He bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David more. ⁴² Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. For we have promised each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you, and between my children and your children forever.’” Then David got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.