Historical

Jonathan Cuts a Covenant with David

18 Now it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul, that ^(A)the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and ^(B)Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ² And Saul took him that day and ^(C)did not let him return to his father’s house. ³ Then ^(D)Jonathan cut a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. ^4 (E)And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵ So David went out wherever Saul sent him and ^[a]prospered; and Saul set him over the men of war. And it was pleasing in the eyes of all the people and also in the eyes of Saul’s servants.

Saul Looks at David with Suspicion

⁶ And it happened as they were coming, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, that ^(F)the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with gladness, and with ^[b]musical instruments. ⁷ And the women ^(G)sang as they ^[c]were merry and said,

⁸ Then Saul became very angry, for this saying was ^[d]displeasing in his eyes; and he said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, but to me they have ascribed thousands. Now ^(J)what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹ So Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on.

¹⁰ Now it happened on the next day that ^(K)an evil spirit from God ^[e]came mightily upon Saul, and ^(L)he raved in the midst of the house. Now David was playing the harp with his hand, ^[f](M)as usual; and ^[g](N)a spear was in Saul’s hand. ^11 (O)Then Saul hurled the spear for he thought, “I will ^[h]pin David to the wall.” But David ^[i]escaped from his presence twice.

¹² And ^(P)Saul was afraid of David, ^(Q)for Yahweh was with him but ^(R)had turned away from Saul. ¹³ Therefore Saul turned him away from ^[j]his presence and appointed him as his commander of one thousand; and ^(S)he went out and came in before the people. ¹⁴ And David was ^[k]prospering in all his ways, and ^(T)Yahweh was with him. ¹⁵ Then Saul saw that he was ^[l]prospering greatly, so he dreaded him. ¹⁶ But ^(U)all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

¹⁷ Then Saul said to David, “^(V)Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife; only be a man of valor for me and fight ^(W)Yahweh’s battles.” For Saul thought, “My hand shall not be against him, but ^(X)let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” ¹⁸ But David said to Saul, “^(Y)Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be the king’s son-in-law?” ¹⁹ So it happened at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to ^(Z)Adriel ^(AA)the Meholathite as a wife.

Saul’s Daughter Given to David

²⁰ And ^(AB)Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David. So they told Saul, and the thing was right in his eyes. ²¹ And Saul said, “I will give her to him that she may become a snare to him, and ^(AC)that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” Therefore Saul said to David, “^(AD)For a second time you may be my son-in-law today.” ²² Then Saul commanded his servants, “Speak to David secretly, saying, ‘Behold, the king delights in you, and all his servants love you; so now, become the king’s son-in-law.’” ²³ So Saul’s servants spoke these words in ^[m]David’s hearing. But David said, “Is it trivial in your eyes to become the king’s son-in-law, ^(AE)since I am a poor man and lightly esteemed?” ²⁴ And the servants of Saul told to him ^[n]according to these words which David spoke. ²⁵ Saul then said, “Thus you shall say to David, ‘The king does not desire any ^(AF)dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, ^(AG)to take vengeance on the king’s enemies.’” Now ^(AH)Saul planned to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines. ²⁶ Then his servants told David these words, and it was right in the eyes of David to become the king’s son-in-law. ^[o](AI)So before the days had expired, ²⁷ David rose up and went, ^(AJ)he and his men, and struck down two hundred men among the Philistines. Then ^(AK)David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might become the king’s son-in-law. So Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. ²⁸ Then Saul saw and knew that Yahweh was with David, and that Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved him, ²⁹ so Saul was even more afraid of David. So Saul was David’s enemy continually.

³⁰ Then the commanders of the Philistines ^(AL)went out to battle, and it happened as often as they went out, that David ^(AM)behaved himself more insightfully than all the servants of Saul. So his name was highly esteemed.

David Escapes from Saul

19 Then Saul spoke with Jonathan his son and all his servants ^(AN)to put David to death. But ^(AO)Jonathan, Saul’s son, greatly delighted in David. ² So Jonathan told David saying, “Saul my father is seeking to put you to death. So now, please be careful in the morning, and stay in a secret place and hide yourself. ³ And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father about you; ^(AP)what I ^[p]perceive, I will tell you.” ⁴ Then Jonathan ^(AQ)spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “^(AR)Do not let the king sin against his servant David, since he has not sinned against you, and since his works have been very good for you. ⁵ For ^(AS)he took his life in his hand and struck the Philistine, and ^(AT)Yahweh brought about a great salvation for all Israel; you saw it and were glad. ^(AU)Why then will you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death without a cause?” ⁶ And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, “As Yahweh lives, he shall not be put to death.” ⁷ Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these words. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as ^(AV)formerly.

⁸ Then there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great slaughter, so that they fled before him. ⁹ Now there was ^(AW)an evil spirit from Yahweh on Saul as he was sitting in his house ^(AX)with his spear in his hand, ^(AY)and David was playing the harp with his hand. ^10 (AZ)And Saul tried to ^[q]pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, so that he ^[r]stuck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹ Then ^(BA)Saul sent messengers to David’s house to keep watch over him, in order to put him to death in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not make an escape for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be put to death.” ^12 (BB)So Michal let David down through a window, and he went out and fled and escaped. ¹³ Then Michal took ^(BC)the ^[s]household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes. ¹⁴ Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but she said, “^(BD)He is sick.” ¹⁵ So Saul sent messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me on ^[t]his bed, that I may put him to death.” ¹⁶ The messengers came, and behold, the ^[u]household idol was on the bed with the quilt of goats’ hair at its head. ¹⁷ So Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” And Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! ^(BE)Why should I put you to death?’”

¹⁸ Now David fled and escaped and came ^(BF)to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in ^(BG)Naioth. ¹⁹ And it was told to Saul, saying, “Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.” ²⁰ Then ^(BH)Saul sent messengers to take David, but they saw ^(BI)the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them. And the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and ^(BJ)they also prophesied. ²¹ This was told to Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. ²² Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” ²³ So he went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and ^(BK)the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. ²⁴ He also stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and ^[v]lay down ^[w](BL)naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “^(BM)Is Saul also among the prophets?”

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and ^(BN)said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” ² And he said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without revealing it in my ear. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³ Yet David ^(BO)swore again, ^[x]saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly ^(BP)as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, there is ^[y]hardly a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever your soul says, I will do for you.” ⁵ So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is ^(BQ)the new moon, and I ought ^(BR)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, ^(BS)that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. ⁶ If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to ^(BT)Bethlehem his city because it is ^(BU)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ ⁷ If he ^[z]says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will have peace; but if he is very angry, ^(BV)know that he has decided on evil. ⁸ Therefore show lovingkindness to your servant, for ^(BW)you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But ^(BX)if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” ⁹ And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed come to know that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me ^[aa]if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹ And Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have examined my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and reveal it in your ear? ¹³ If it please my father to do you harm, ^(BY)may Yahweh do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not reveal it in your ear and send you away, that you may go in peace. And ^(BZ)may Yahweh be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ And if I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of Yahweh, that I may not die? ^15 (CA)You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when Yahweh cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan cut a covenant with the house of David, saying, “^(CB)May Yahweh require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” ¹⁷ And Jonathan made David swear again because of his love for him, because ^(CC)he loved him as he loved his own soul.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to him, “^(CD)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be missing. ¹⁹ When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place ^[ab]where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I sent them towards a target. ²¹ And behold, I will send the young man, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the young man, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, for there is peace for you and ^[ac]no harm, as Yahweh lives. ²² But if I ^[ad]say to the youth, ‘^(CE)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for Yahweh has sent you away. ^23 (CF)As for the ^[ae]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, ^(CG)Yahweh is between you and me forever.”

²⁴ So David hid in the field; and when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. ²⁵ And the king sat on his seat as usual, the seat by the wall; then Jonathan rose up, and Abner sat down by Saul’s side, but ^(CH)David’s place was missing. ²⁶ Nevertheless Saul did not speak anything that day, for he said, “It is an accident; ^(CI)he is not clean; surely he is not clean.” ²⁷ Now it happened the next day, the second day of the new moon, that David’s place was missing; so Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has the son of Jesse not come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” ²⁸ Jonathan then answered Saul, “^(CJ)David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem, ²⁹ and he said, ‘Please send me on my way, since our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to attend. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, please let me get away that I may see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king’s table.”

Saul Is Angry with Jonathan

³⁰ Then Saul’s anger burned against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you are choosing the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? ³¹ For ^[af]as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. So now, send and bring him to me, for ^(CK)he ^[ag]must surely die.” ³² But Jonathan answered Saul his father and said to him, “^(CL)Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” ³³ Then ^(CM)Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him down; ^(CN)so Jonathan knew that his father had decided to put David to death. ³⁴ Then Jonathan arose from the table in burning anger and did not eat food on the second day of the new moon, for he was grieved over David because his father had dishonored him.

³⁵ Now it happened in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a very young man was with him. ³⁶ And he said to his young man, “^(CO)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the young man was running, he shot ^[ah]an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the young man reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “^(CP)Is not the arrow beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan called after the young man, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s young man gathered up the arrow and came to his master. ³⁹ But the young man did not know of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his young man and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” ⁴¹ When the young man was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his ^[ai]face to the ground and ^(CQ)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but ^(CR)David wept more. ⁴² And Jonathan said to David, “^(CS)Go in peace, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of Yahweh, saying, ‘^(CT)Yahweh will be between me and you, and between my seed and your seed forever.’” ^[aj]Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.