Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of ^[a]Ascents. Of David.

David and Jonathan’s Covenant

20 David fled from Naioth in Ramah and he came and said to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my ^[a]guilt? What is my sin before (against) your father, that he is seeking my life?” ² Jonathan said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing ^[b]important or insignificant without telling me. So why would he hide this thing from me? It is not so!” ³ But David vowed again, saying “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be worried.’ But truly as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death.” ⁴ Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” ⁵ David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon [observance], and I should sit at the table to eat [the sacrificial meal] with the king; but let me go, so 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 permission from me to go to Bethlehem, his city, because it is the yearly sacrifice there for the entire family.’ ⁷ If he says, ‘All right,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, then be certain that he has decided on evil. ⁸ Therefore show kindness to your servant, because you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is iniquity (guilt) in me, kill me yourself; for why should you bring me to your father [to be killed]?” ⁹ Jonathan said, “Far be it from [happening to] you! In fact, if I indeed learn that my father has decided to harm you, would I not tell you about it?” ¹⁰ Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?” ¹¹ Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field [to talk].” So they went out to the field.

¹² Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward ^[c]you, shall I not then send word to you and make it known to you? ¹³ But if it pleases my father to do you harm, may the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more if I do not let you know about it and send you away, so that you may go in ^[d]safety. And ^[e]may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. ¹⁴ If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness and faithfulness of the Lord, ^[f]so that I will not die? ¹⁵ You shall never cut off your lovingkindness and faithfulness from my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made a covenant with the ^[g]house of David. [^[h]He added,] “May ^[i]the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies. [that is, hold them accountable for any harm they inflict on David].” ¹⁷ Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, for Jonathan loved him as himself.

¹⁸ Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon [festival], and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. ¹⁹ When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself ^[j]on that eventful day [when my father tried to kill you], and shall stay by the stone Ezel. ²⁰ I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a target. ²¹ And I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come [back to my father’s table]; for it is ^[k]safe for you and there is ^[l]no danger, as the Lord lives. ²² But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. ²³ As for the agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever [making sure that we each keep our word].”

³⁵ In the morning Jonathan went out to the field for the meeting with David, and a young boy was with him. ³⁶ And he said to his boy, “Run, please find the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow past him. ³⁷ When the boy came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called to him, “Is the arrow not beyond you?” ³⁸ And Jonathan called out after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came back to his master. ³⁹ But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. ⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, take them to the city.” ⁴¹ As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side [beside the mound of stones] and fell on his face to the ground [in submission and respect], and bowed three times. Then they kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more. ⁴² Jonathan told David, “Go ^[a]in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and yours forever.’” ^[b]Then he stood and left, while Jonathan went into the city.

The Church at Antioch

¹⁹ So then [since they were unaware of these developments] those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with [the stoning of] Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior]. ²² The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God [that was bestowed on them], he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord. ²⁴ For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord. ²⁵ And Barnabas left for Tarsus to search for Saul; ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.^(A)