Old/New Testament
Jonathan Intercedes for David
19 Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants about killing David, but Saul’s son Jonathan liked David very much.[a] 2 So Jonathan informed David, saying, “My father Saul is trying to kill you; now please take care! In the morning you should stay in the hiding place and conceal yourself. 3 I will go out and stand at my father’s side[b] in the field where you are, and I will speak about you to my father; if I find out anything[c] I will tell it to you.” 4 So Jonathan spoke well about David to his father Saul and said to him, “The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his service for you has been very good. 5 He put his life in his hand and attacked the Philistine, and Yahweh brought about a great victory for all of Israel, and you saw it and rejoiced! Now why should you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” 6 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan and swore, “As Yahweh lives,[d] he will not be put to death!” 7 Jonathan called to David and told him all of these words. Then Jonathan brought David to Saul and he was before him as formerly.[e]
David Has to Flee Again
8 War came again, so David went out and fought against the Philistines and defeated them thoroughly[f] so that they fled before him. 9 Then the evil spirit from Yahweh came upon Saul while he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing a stringed instrument in his hand. 10 So Saul tried to pin David to the wall with the spear,[g] but he eluded Saul,[h] so that he struck the spear into the wall, and David fled and escaped that same night.
11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, “If you do not save your life[i] tonight, then tomorrow you will be killed!” 12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he went and fled and escaped. 13 Then Michal took the household god[j] and put it on the bed and put a quilt of goat’s hair at its head and covered it with the clothes. 14 And Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, “He is ill.” 15 So Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, “Bring him up to me in the bed, so that I can kill him.” 16 When the messengers came, to their surprise[k] the idol was on the bed with the quilt of goat’s hair at the head. 17 Then Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?” Michal said to Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go, why should I kill you?’”
18 So David fled and escaped, and he came to Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed in Naioth. 19 And it was told to Saul, “David is in Naioth in Ramah.” 20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw the company of the prophets prophesying and Samuel standing as chief over them, then the Spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. 21 So they told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. Again Saul sent messengers a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Then he also went to Ramah. When he came to the great cistern which was in Secu, he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” Someone said, “Look they are in Naioth in Ramah.” 23 So he went there to Naioth in Ramah and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he walked along prophesying[l] until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 24 He also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay naked all that day and all night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
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?[m] 2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You will not die! Look, my father does not do[n] anything large or small unless he reveals it to me.[o] Why should my father hide this thing or anything from me?” 3 Then David took an oath[p] 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[q] and as your soul lives,[r] surely there is merely a step between me and death!” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you wish,[s] 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[t] 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.[u] 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,[v] 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[w] that I will question my father by this time the day after tomorrow.[x] And look, if he is well disposed toward you,[y] will I not send word to you and disclose it to you?[z] 13 So may Yahweh punish Jonathan and more[aa] if my father decides to do you harm[ab] and if I fail to disclose it to you[ac] 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?[ad] 15 And do not cut off your loyal love from my family[ae] forever, not even when Yahweh exterminates[af] each of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant[ag] with the house of David, saying, “May Yahweh call the enemies of David to account.”[ah] 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[ai] 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[aj] 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;[ak] bring[al] it,’ then[am] come, for it means peace for you. And there is no problem, as Yahweh lives.[an] 22 But if I say this to the young man, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’[ao] 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,[ap] the king was seated at the feast.[aq] 25 The king sat at his seat as before,[ar] 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.[as] He is not ceremonially clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 And then[at] 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[au] 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[av] at Jonathan and said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman![aw] 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[ax] 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!”[ay] 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[az] spear at him to kill him. So Jonathan knew that his father had decided[ba] to kill David.
34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged,[bb] 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[bc] in the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the appointment with David, and a young boy[bd] was with him. 36 He said to his servant,[be] “Run, please find the arrows that I am shooting!” The boy[bf] 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?”[bg] 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,[bh] and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed each other[bi] and wept together,[bj] 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.”[bk] Then he got up and left, and Jonathan went into the city.
David Encounters the Priests of Nob
21 Now David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and he said to him, “Why are you alone and there are no men with you?” 2 So David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘No one must know anything about this matter on which I am sending you, with which I have charged you and the servants.’” So I have arranged to meet with my servants at a certain place.[bl] 3 Now then, what do you have at hand?[bm] Give me five loaves of bread or whatever is here.”[bn] 4 The priest answered David and said, “There is no ordinary bread here at hand;[bo] there is only holy bread, but only if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 David answered the priest and said to him, “Indeed, women were held back from us as it has been when I’ve gone out before.[bp] And the things[bq] of the young men are holy when[br] it is an ordinary journey. How much more[bs] today[bt] will the things[bu] be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which was removed from before Yahweh, in order to set hot bread there on the day when it was taken away.
7 Now there was a man from the servants of Saul on that day, detained before Yahweh, whose name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s shepherds. 8 David asked Ahimelech, “Is there not at your disposal[bv] a spear or a sword? For I took neither my sword nor my weapons with me because the king’s matter was urgent.” 9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine whom you killed in the valley of Elah is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want to take it for yourself, then take it, for there is no other except it here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”
David Flees to Achish in Gath
10 So David got up and fled on that day from the presence of Saul, and he came to Achish the king of Gath. 11 The servants of Achish said to him, “Is not this David the king of the land? Is it not for this one that they sang in the dances, saying, ‘Saul killed his thousands, but David his ten thousands?’” 12 David took these words seriously[bw] and felt severely threatened by[bx] Achish the king of Gath. 13 So he changed his behavior before them[by] and pretended to be mad in their presence.[bz] He made scratches on the doors of the gate and let his saliva run down into his beard. 14 Then Achish said to his servants, “Look, you see a madman! Why did you bring him to me? 15 Do I lack madmen that you have brought this one to act like a madman before me? Should this one enter my household?”
The Sign of Jonah
29 And as[a] the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation! It demands a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah! 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something[b] greater than Solomon is here! 32 The people of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and behold, something[c] greater than Jonah is here!
Light and Darkness
33 “No one after[d] lighting a lamp puts it[e] in a cellar or under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body. When your eye is sincere, your whole body is full of light also. But when it is evil, your body is dark also. 35 Therefore pay careful attention that the light in you is not darkness! 36 If therefore your whole body is full of light, not having any part dark, it will be completely full of light, as when the lamp with its light gives light to you.”
Pharisees and Legal Experts Denounced
37 And as he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal[f] with him, and he went in and[g] reclined at table. 38 And the Pharisee, when he[h] saw it,[i] was astonished that he did not first wash before the meal. 39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but your inside is full of greediness and wickedness. 40 Fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as charitable giving the things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you.
42 “But woe to you, Pharisees, because you pay a tenth of mint and rue and every garden herb, and neglect justice and love for God! But it was necessary to do these things without neglecting those things also. 43 Woe to you, Pharisees, because you love the best seat in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces! 44 Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, and the people who walk over them[j] do not know it![k]
45 And one of the legal experts answered and[l] said to him, “Teacher, when you[m] say these things, you insult us also!” 46 So he said, “Woe to you also, legal experts, because you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers! 47 Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! 48 As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build their tombs![n] 49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building.[o] Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation! 52 Woe to you, legal experts, because you have taken away the key to knowledge! You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering!”
53 And when[p] he departed from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be terribly hostile, and to question him closely about many things, 54 plotting to catch him with reference to something he might say.[q]
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