Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song of David for going up to the Temple.

David and Jonathan Make an Agreement

20 David ran away from the camps at Ramah and went to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done wrong? What is my crime? Why is your father trying to kill me?”

² Jonathan answered, “That can’t be true! My father isn’t trying to kill you. My father doesn’t do anything without first telling me. It doesn’t matter how important it is, my father always tells me. Why would my father refuse to tell me that he wants to kill you? No, it is not true!”

³ But David answered, “Your father knows very well that I am your friend. Your father said to himself, ‘Jonathan must not know about it. If he knows, he will tell David.’^[a] But as surely as you and the Lord are alive, I am very close to death.”

⁴ Jonathan said to David, “I will do anything you want me to do.”

⁵ Then David said, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. I am supposed to eat with the king, but let me hide in the field until the evening. ⁶ If your father notices I am gone, tell him, ‘David wanted to go home to Bethlehem. His family is having its own feast for this monthly sacrifice. David asked me to let him run down to Bethlehem and join his family.’ ⁷ If your father says, ‘Fine,’ then I am safe. But if your father becomes angry, you will know that he wants to hurt me. ⁸ Jonathan, be kind to me. I am your servant. You have made an agreement with me before the Lord. If I am guilty, you may kill me yourself, but don’t take me to your father.”

⁹ Jonathan answered, “No, never! If I learn that my father plans to hurt you, I will warn you.”

¹⁰ David said, “Who will warn me if your father says bad things to you?”

¹¹ Then Jonathan said, “Come, let’s go out into the field.” So Jonathan and David went together into the field.

¹² Jonathan said to David, “I make this promise before the Lord, the God of Israel. I promise that I will learn how my father feels about you. I will learn if he feels good about you or not. Then, in three days, I will send a message to you in the field. ¹³ If my father wants to hurt you, I will let you know. I will let you leave in safety. May the Lord punish me if I don’t do this. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. ^14-15 As long as I live, show me the same kindness the Lord does. And if I die, never stop showing this kindness to my family. Be faithful to us, even when the Lord destroys all your enemies^[b] from the earth.” ¹⁶ So Jonathan made this agreement with David and his family, and he asked the Lord to hold them responsible for keeping it.^[c]

¹⁷ Jonathan loved David as himself, and because of this love, he asked David to repeat this agreement for himself.

¹⁸ Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon celebration. Your seat will be empty, so my father will see that you are gone. ¹⁹ On the third day go to the same place you hid when this trouble began. Wait by that hill. ²⁰ On the third day I will go to that hill and shoot three arrows as if I am shooting at a target. ²¹ Then I will tell the boy to go find the arrows. If everything is fine, I will tell the boy, ‘You went too far! The arrows are closer to me. Come back and get them.’ If I say that, you can come out of hiding. I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, you are safe. There is no danger. ²² But if there is trouble, I will say to the boy, ‘The arrows are farther away. Go get them.’ If I say that, you must leave. The Lord is sending you away. ²³ Remember this agreement between you and me. The Lord is our witness forever.”

David and Jonathan Say Goodbye

³⁵ The next morning Jonathan went out to the field to meet David as they had agreed. Jonathan brought a little boy with him. ³⁶ He said to the boy, “Run. Go find the arrows I shoot.” The boy began to run, and Jonathan shot the arrows over his head. ³⁷ The boy ran to the place where the arrows fell, but Jonathan called, “The arrows are farther away.” ³⁸ Then he shouted, “Hurry! Go get them. Don’t just stand there.” The boy picked up the arrows and brought them back to his master. ³⁹ The boy knew nothing about what went on. Only Jonathan and David knew. ⁴⁰ Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him to go back to town.

⁴¹ When the boy left, David came out from his hiding place on the other side of the hill. David gave a formal greeting by bowing to the ground three times to show his respect for Jonathan. But then David and Jonathan kissed each other and cried together. It was a very sad goodbye, especially for David.

⁴² Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace. We have taken an oath in the Lord’s name to be friends forever. We have asked the Lord to be a witness between us and our descendants forever.”

The Good News Comes to Antioch

¹⁹ The believers were scattered by the persecution^[a] that began when Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They told the Good News in these places, but only to Jews. ²⁰ Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When these men came to Antioch, they began speaking to people who were not Jews.^[b] They told them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord was helping these men, and a large number of people believed and decided to follow the Lord.

²² When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ^23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. When he went to Antioch and saw how God had blessed the believers there, he was very happy. He encouraged them all, saying, “Always be faithful to the Lord. Serve him with all your heart.” Many more people became followers of the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. ²⁶ When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They stayed there a whole year. Every time the church came together, Barnabas and Saul met with them and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the followers of the Lord Jesus were called “Christ-followers” for the first time.